Charles has got this right. Too many people on the conservative side knee-jerked their way into a "no A-rabs are gonna run our ports" position without knowing many facts. Now, after being so vocal about it, they've painted themselves into a corner and won't admit they were wrong in the first place.
I expect that kind of nonsense from an idiot like Sean Hannity who only has a handful of talking points to rely on in the first place but people with smarts should know better. The fact tht Dems like Hillary, Schumer and Boxer were against this from the get-go should have sent up a red flag immediately.
This is no different than when the Democrats held up the airport inspectors legislation because they wanted those jobs to be unionized. This situation is all about the Longshoreman's Union and nothing about port security. As for conservatives against this, Rush Limbaugh put it best: "The 9/11 hijackers didn't need to spend billions of dollars to attack us."
A reasonable position by Kraut.
This is not the equivalent of handling our national security to Osama, as some have made. Perhaps it is not ideal either, but neither are the Chinese. In the end this isn't a perfect world and we have less than perfect options. At this point I lean in favor of the deal, with especial attention to the fact withdrawing the sale would be harmful to our intent to forge alliances with nations that do not take Iran's path. Some folks dismiss these alliances as insignificant or unwelcome, they show their ignorance in doing so.
Folks that make the case this means we care not at all about national security because someone supports the sale and raises this point are not sensible. I've made it very clear the WOT & Judges are my primary issues. If I really believed this was a terror waiting to unfold, I would be of different mind. As would many. But I don't. caution is warranted. Hysteria decidely not.
Krauthammer isn't saying that they were wrong in the first place, or at all. As he says, "This contract should have been stopped at an earlier stage. ..."
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, conservatives have taken a page from libeal democrat tactics and begin calling whomoever they disagree with 'bigots' and 'racists'. President Bush lead the way on Tuesday when he challenged the Senate to "show why a middle eastern country doesn't have the same rights as any other country". Of course nobody dared answer, "because, Mr. President, nobody else flies commercial airlines into our highrise buildings". That kind of honesty is too dangerous today.
It's a curious thing, watching penguins fall over the cliff, one-by-one, because they have blind trust in the fellow leading them. It's perhaps even more curious to watch conservatives begin acting like the hated liberals by suddenly trumpeting the virtues of 'moderate islam', and liberals acting like conservatives by distrusting even 'moderate' muslims to run some of our shipping ports.
But all's well that ends well. Inspite of these comical role-reversals going on, islam is being kept away from a Trojan Horse invasion of our ports, at least for awhile anyway.
Until recently (the last year or so) foreigners weren't allowed to own property in the UAE. And it you wanted to rent, all twelve months were usually paid in advance. Even the smallest apartments have rooms for live in maids (third world people - and the UAE tells you how to treat them - and how often you have to send them back to their families etc). This is a society where they understand restricting those who aren't natives. So please, let's not act like they're primitives who will be sooooooo offended if we have reservations about the deal. They're grown-ups and can handle a little conflict.
Honestly we don't know how much was spent over the years in planning and dry runs through our airports, sure it wasn't billions, but they were financed by someone while living in America.