Anyone been to Dubai lately? It is one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world. Very westernized and very welcoming. The UAE is rapidly becoming one of the world's leading trading powers. It is an anchor of stability in an incredibly unstable region. And for all that, we want to deny its very legitimate and proven shipping companies to operate ports already under foreign ownership in this country? Great idea. Lets squash the one country that has already become exactly what we want the Middle East to be.
How dare you inject common sense
I've seen it today in spades!!
"Lets squash the one country that has already become exactly what we want the Middle East to be."
Sure!! If you love CAIR and hate Israel
To: STARWISE; Mo1; onyx
It turns out that an anti-Israeli foundation run by the crown prince of Dubai owns the very deed to CAIR's headquarters located almost in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. The foundation has held telethons to support families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:BgAAE3vM-q8J:www.discoverthenetwork.org/Articles/Z-CAIR.htm+cair+dubai&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a
1,052 posted on 02/21/2006 4:47:58 PM CST by hipaatwo
- The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.
- According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.
- Two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE (Fayez Banihammad and Marwan al-Shehhi)
- After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.
Then, tell me, why is the UAE willing and agreeable to harboring a person which the United States found to be a TERRORIST?
See my Message #26.
And look at the link.
The UAE is part of the Muslim world. And like a brother in a big family, they will come to the defense of their brothers -- EVERY TIME!
Thank you.
Nah, nobody here has been to Dubai. They're all just ready jump onto the bandwagon with Chuckie Schumer.
Fascinating to watch. Sickening too.
Hey you might as well forget trying to sell any common sense here. They dont recongnize the facts as to countries such as this that are actually a beacon of hope in the MIddle East. There too involved in making an enemy of "they". You see the same thing on the immigration threads where deporting American citizens born of illegals are ranted about.
Its usually the same group I have noticed. Its depressing and makes me want to wash my hands after responding to basically racist and xenophobic threads. Forget the assistance these countries have given us on the war in Iraq. Doesnt matter I suppose. I guess it just shows some freepers like the average American have an attention span of 5 minutes.
My mind is not made up, but I would certainly agree this was the president's sentiment. Part of me wants to punish them for harboring fugitives/malcontents, and part of me wants to encourage right-thinking vis-a-vis the Western world.
It's difficult. The rabid foaming on both widely-seperated sides of the issue is making it hard to see.
Finally, a voice of reason and not a hate-all-of-islam reaction. The UAE won't be in charge of security at the ports. UAE is a close ally of the U.S. and is very western. To blame them in any way for 9/11 is like blaming the U.K. for Richard Reed, the shoe bomber. Or we should blame America because that's where Padilla, the dirty bomber comes from. Someone will likely blame UAE for funding terrorists through their banking system. If that is the case, Switzerland needs blame as well as U.S. banks for doing what they do - efficiently handling money for customers. The main reason I think Bush is right on this is because it is the Democrats howling the loudest on this. They have been consistently negligent on security issues, and now they have again shown a double standard. People really need to look at the details instead of trying to piss off one of the few, needed allies we have in the region.
You are exactly right.
I saw one talking head say it wasn't because Dubai is an Arab country, it was because it was a "staging area" for 9-11. Why? Because one or more of the hijackers passed through there at some point.
Ignoring the fact that Dubai is the regional transportation center, if being a "staging area" for 9-11 is the critera, then we ought to be engaged in a 24-7 embargo against Germany, the REAL staging area for the whole thing.
Has everyone forgotten that Hambug was Mohammad Atta's base of operations? Does anyone really think that we would be seeing this blood-in-the-water phenomenon if it were a German company that bought out P&O?
No, we have ignoramuses spouting absolute crap like "We're at WAR with them!"
With DUBAI? That's like being at war with Singapore. Anyone with the slightest knowledege of the reason knows that Dubai and the UAE, along with Oman and Bahrain are the most pro-western, forward looking, moderate counties in the region.
If we try to tar these countries with the Al-Qauda brush, we only wind up looking like a bunch of racist yahoos who can't tell friend from foe.
"Lets squash the one country that has already become exactly what we want the Middle East to be."
If the lost of this deal will really squash them, I'd say go for it, squash away. I thought we wanted the Middle East to become democractic, Dubai is an absolute monarchy. They are a port of smuggling for terrorists. They are the bankers to terrorists. They are NOT equivalent to the British. And for this to go through after world Islam has YET AGAIN made clear it's strong desire to kill and/or subjagate us during the cartoon jihad is a JOKE. Btw. the Saudis ain't our friends either.
If you like Dubai so much, maybe you should go live there. Of course, if you're not a Muslim, you'll have to abandon your religion. If you don't like the King (sheik, emir, whatever) you won't be able to say so. But, if clean and modern is what you crave, go for it.
Me, I'd chose Singapore, if I were looking for a clean, modern, fascist state.
Judging a country by its tourism facilities is rather shallow, no?
Are you playing the violin while typing this stuff? You might get some drunk on a park bench to believe that the UAE will be "squashed" if we refuse them this job, but probably no one on FR will buy it.
The UAE are the wealthiest per capita middle eastern nation, and the second wealthiest overall. They will simply smile, take their 6.5 billion dollars and go invest it in some other American concern, (but hopefully one that won't involve our national security).
Well said!