Posted on 02/23/2006 12:00:42 AM PST by Dane
Tommy Franks Defends Dubai Ports Deal
Former CENTCOM commanding general Tommy Franks said Wednesday that the Bush administration was right to approve a deal for a United Arab Emirates-based company to run six major U.S. ports.
"We have more U.S. Navy ships using the port in Dubai, Jebel Ali, than any other port outside the United States," Franks told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."
The former Iraq war commander explained U.S. reliance on the Dubai port facility by saying, "We know he difference between an enemy and a friend."
"The Emirates is a friend," Franks aid. "That is the best run port that I've ever seen."
Gen. Franks said the Dubai company had three essential qualities that commend it for the task of running U.S. ports: the capacity to handle the job, the inclination to do it right and security, which he noted "will remain, in any case, in the hands of the United States Coast Guard."
Those who still have a an open mind about this should hear Tony Snows views on the port confusion. He makes the most since about this subject. I was not for it at first but now i see it as not a big thing at all !!
They wont "OWN" anything; all the company is to do is run the ports. They wont be in charge of security, either.
You will often find these people on the Buchananut threads, worshipping the ground he walks on. Some folks are going to need surgery after all the kneejerking they did. (I only jerked a little-but I can get medication for that...)
Whew, is that the new line from hillary's basement, it is filled with hyperbole and misinformation such as the UAE recognizes the taliban, they cut all ties and also that this was a "secret' deal. Nothing secret about it, it was well known and reported when DPWorld made it's bid on P&O back in Novemeber.
I predict that 2008 will be far worse and I have NO intention of being here, for much of that year.
Who can forget the Allen Keyes wars?
LOL
Schumer is a twerp with a congenital hatred of Arabs and a blind hatred of the administration. Hillary is even worse, an opportunist who used this occassion to "butch up" her stance on foreign policy. The fact that so many on this site and in the blogosphere took their bait really indicates to me that we really are the stupid party.
As I said before, Dubai is the Vegas, Scottsdale, and Monaco of the Middle East rolled into one. Sheik Makhtoum deserves a lot of credit for demostrating that the free market is compatible with Arab culture, as well as for his admiration and support of the U.S. DP World, much like Emirates, is perhaps the best run port management company in the world, even better than Menzies. The fact that third rate radio jockeys like Michael Savage keep reporting this as the "Arabs are taking over our ports" when, in reality, it was merely a minor outsourcing of duties unrelated to port security, shows how sensationalistic and ignorant the talking heads are, even on "conservative talk radio."
Dubai (more so than the rest of the UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain are the only Arab states with relatively sane governments and a foreign policy that see America as a partner, more so than a sheep to be fleeced (a la the semiliterate camel herders in Riyadh). Whatever one thinks of Arab culture and the Islamic faith, we must keep in mind that we still need allies in that area if our grand scheme of a stable and open Middle East will prevail in the future.
BRAVO!
See #69.
bttt
Just how high can a knee jerk jerk
or can a knee jerk jerk that high?
or
How I stopped worrying and learned to
love the shipping container
I don't buy your straw man in bold either. Being a lobbyist (paid or not) is a constitutionally protected endeavor.
You insinuated that the President of the United States, a severely wounded veteran who happens to be a former US Senator, and a retired four star general are dirty.
Maybe, but I believe you need proof when you name names.
You tried to make a whole bunch of nothing, look sinister. How about not cherry-picking, slicing and dicing facts, but posting them truthfully and fully?
And as to the rest of that sewage you spilled, clean it up yourself.
Cheney's motto: Dick Gregory before he dicks you.
Excellent post, Clemenza! There's nothing like first hand experience.
"Whatever one thinks of Arab culture and the Islamic faith, we must keep in mind that we still need allies in that area if our grand scheme of a stable and open Middle East will prevail in the future."
Another lame try Dane.
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