Posted on 02/22/2006 6:31:33 AM PST by rattrap
I've tried ... tried hard ... but it's no use. I just can't understand why George Bush is so invested in this idea of turning the operations at six essential U.S. ports, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia, over to a foreign government ... and an Islamic foreign government at that.
Security experts are pretty much in agreement that if -- and I think it's a "when" rather than an "if" -- a nuclear device is ever smuggled into this country, the weapon will arrive in a container through one of our ports. Do you think that these containers are screened? Actually, many of them are. But where and how they are screened is critical. Most of the screening actually takes place in a foreign port before the containers are loaded onto a ship for the trip to America. Are any of those containers screened here? Yes. A few. A very few. The primary method of screening is for our security officials to look at the container manifests while those containers are at sea to determine which containers will be opened for further screening. What is being proposed here is to put a foreign government, an Islamic government, in virtual control over just how those manifests are prepared and how they will read ... especially the manifests for containers being shipped from a port operated by an Islamic government TO a port being operated by an Islamic government.
Let this swirl around in your brains for a moment. The wonderful, peaceful religion of Islam is involved in most of the shooting "hot" conflicts around the world. I can't cite the exact numbers right now, but we probably have factions shooting at one another in about 130 or so locations on every continent --- with the possible exception of Antarctica. In about 97% of those conflicts you will find Muslims on one side or another. There is only one major world religion out there that has as one of its basic tenants the goal of world domination. That religion is Islam. There is only one religion out there with a sizable faction that has declared war on our country, and which is dedicated to the goal of killing as many of us as they possibly can. That religion is Islam.
Though far too many people don't realize it, the Western world now finds itself smack in the middle of World War IV, the war against Islamic terrorism. (World War III was commonly referred to as the "Cold War." It was a world war nonetheless.) On just what level does it make sense to the President of the United States to turn over the operations of six critical American ports to an Islamic government ... especially an Islamic government with established ties to terrorists who have already struck and killed thousands of Americans?
So this is where George Bush wants to use his first veto? How many budgets has he signed? Six? We've seen non-defense government spending increase throughout his administration at record rates, and never a veto. Never. Not even a hint of a veto. So now Bush has finally found something he wants to veto? He wants to veto any bill that would prevent the turnover of six critical ports to a Muslim government? Pardon me, but what the hell is going on here?
Bush pretends .. and it has to be pretending .. not to see why people are so worked up over this. On the one hand he suggests that this is all about anti-Arab prejudice. Please, Mr. President. Give us a bit more credit than that. Then Bush says: "I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a [British] company."
OK ... where do we start. As you read through this list keep this fact in mind: Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the company selling the American ports operations to Dubai Ports World, is a private company. Peninsular is not owned by the government of Great Britain. Dubai Ports world is a state-owned company, owned by the United Arab Emirates. So, what we have here is a private company selling its rights to operate these six ports in the Untied States to a government ... an Islamic government. (96% Muslim) So, to answer Bush's question as to ...why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a [British] company." let's start with this correction. It's a Middle Eastern government that's being held to a different standard than a British company. Governments often use deadly force to accomplish their goals. Private companies do not. There, President Bush is your reason No. 1 for a different standard. Now that we've established that rather important difference ... let's move on to compare Great Britain to the UAE.
Great Britain is not an Islamic Nation. The de facto state religion there is Anglican, the Church of England. My extensive research shows that the Anglican Church has never, at least in modern times, committed an act of terror against the United States. Nor has the Church of England demanded that Israel be wiped off the face of the earth. Additionally, the Anglican Church has not announced it's intention to subjugate the entire world under Anglican rule.
The UAE IS an Islamic Nation. Review Item No. 2 above.
The 9/11 hijackers did not use Great Britain as an operational and financial base for the planning and funding of their attacks on the United States.
The 9/11 hijackers DID use the United Arab Emirates as an operational and financial base for the planning and funding of their attacks on the United States.
None of the 9/11 hijackers came from Great Britain.
Two of the 9/11 hijackers came from the United Arab Emirates
Great Britain did not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The Taliban, you may remember, provided the operational base for the operations of Al Qaeda.
The United Arab Emirates DID recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Good move.
Great Britain recognizes the government of Israel.
The UAE does NOT recognize the government of Israel.
Supporters of this move will tell you that there are already foreign companies already running most of American port operations.
We're not talking about a foreign company here. We're talking about a foreign government. There just must be something here under the surface. Something unseen. Something undisclosed. The Bush White House just can't be this blind to the legitimate concerns of the people and of those in Congress who are concerned about this move.
Can't get Jesus Juice very easily in Dubai.
You know I have felt that way since the day Mrs Bush went to that stupid morning show to cut us down for not supporting Mier's nomination. That told me, there are a bunch of idiots over there. BUT, knowing the president... he will never do that. BUT, we, on the other hand, CAN AND SHOULD voice our disagreement when confronted with a situation such as this one. Maybe the White House will figure us out sooner or later.. that is to be seen.
I know not everyone in FR agrees with my position and that is fine, but I feel compelled to raise my voice when something like this happens
Clue: for me this is not JUST about the ports... it has do do with the "inconsistency" of having people dying in Iraq in the name or SECURITY, when the president has demonstrated - clearly to me - for whatever reason, he does not have will or desire to secure the borders FIRSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!... and then, deal with the rest of Immigration problem.
I saw that story. If this is the case, then heads need to roll. What other "deals" is the White House administration making without knowledge of the President? It becomes a bona fide national security concern if there's covert activity IN the White House.
So either the WH quickly retracts this, or this could get ugly, and quick.
You're absolutely correct! The dims are already coming off like they're the ones that have been tough on terrorists and this is allowing them to get to the right of the GOP on the issue.
GWB better have a slew of aces up his sleeve or I'm going to wonder if he's literally lost his mind! Not only is this a threat to the security of the Country, but also a political nightmare for the GOP!
The PR efforts of the administration are so poor as not be believed. In today's world it isn't what is, it is how does it look and this looks really bad. The threat of his first veto after 5 years in office is nothing more than outright arrogance and it isn't being lost on anyone. From a PR stance the administration stepped into it big time.
I've done that. Lost 40 pounds in the past year.
I like a lot of what Neal says, but I believe the above is incorrect.
Bush has to find and dust off that veto pen before he can use it!
Cool.
DNC propaganda...move along folks. They are playing us for suckers.
There is another thread floating around FR today that says the President just found out about it last week. I sure did not hear about it in November and I bet you didn't either.
It may have been public knowledge for three months but it was not broadly known. It did not become news until some moron approved the transaction and that was just recently.
Technically speaking, you may actually be right about that. The deal was formally announced on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 -- and I first read about it in the December 5th issue of The Journal of Commerce (which probably would have reached my desk on Friday, December 2nd).
Some details of the article are as follows:
Scaling New Heights
Acquisition of P&O puts Dubai Ports World in the Top Echelon of Global Terminal Operators
The author of the article is Peter T. Leach, and the article appears on page 32 of that issue of the JOC. I hope this evidence is sufficient to convince you that this story is "old news" to some of us. In case you haven't figured it out by now -- I just pulled this off my magazine rack and I'm reading it at my desk as I type this message.
There are two key points about this article that stand out right now, in light of the idiocy we've been seeing over the last week from people in the media and in government . . .
1. There is absolutely no mention of the U.S. regulatory process that would be required, which leads me to believe that the process is much more of a mere formality than most of us seem to think.
2. The U.S. angle to the acquisition isn't a major element of the story. From an industry standpoint, the most highly-prized assets in the deal are the P&O operations in Australia, India, and Europe.
It's not surprising that it wasn't mentioned. The Foreign Investment Committee which approved this deal is pretty much of a rubber stamp. I saw on CNN last night that of some 1500 deals they have reviewed since the law was created that they have approved all but ONE. The last controversial one which they approved was for the acquisition of UNICAL Oil by the Communist Chinese. That also rightly raised a hue and cry in the Congress and the public. Apparently this Committee has never seen a strategic asset that they are not willing to sell to an enemy.
The Chinese weren't flying planes into buildings.
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