A good point, and that's why I guess I could live with this if I have to.
Dubai runs the biggest U.S. military port outside the U.S. We've been there for over a decade, moving supplies, ammunition, equipment, and personnel through those facilities. It's a perfect target for terrorists seeking to strike at the U.S. because we've got people out in town as well. But not one incident in all that time. Nothing. We've had to trust them, and they've never let us down. And that's in an operation where they had far mroe access and control than they'll have here.
Fair enough, but two points: (1) I think the level of scrutiny at a military port would be thousands of times greater than that at a civilian port, and (2) I think Joe Terrorist would much prefer to attack a domestic civilian port than a military port. As a rule, I'd say terrorists aren't interested in attacking millitary assets---military assets fight back. Terrorists are interested in attacking civilian assets, since the chief function of terrorism as a means to and end is inciting fear and unrest in a docile population, so that population is moved to force its government to behave in a certain manner.
Somwehat, but then there's also all the people out and about in town who aren't as guarded.
and (2) I think Joe Terrorist would much prefer to attack a domestic civilian port than a military port. As a rule, I'd say terrorists aren't interested in attacking millitary assets---military assets fight back.
You mean like the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut? Or the Cole?
I understand your point on this, but here's a couple of things to consider. First, we were using that port long before 9/11. It was there as a target if someone wanted to hit it, and certainly it would be easier to hit something in your own backyard rather than traveling to the States. Yet in all those years, not a single attack, despite the relative ease of hitting a target (consider all the U.S. service people and buidings, not just the ships). And to a large extent, they provide the security because its their country and their port.
The UAE has taken some crap from other Arabs about letting the infidels in. Yet they've not only let us in, but let us use their country as a staging area to attack Iraq. Saying "you're good enough to service our military people for more than decade perfectly, but can't manage some terminals here in the U.S." just seems really odd. If they're truly that unreliable, shouldn't we pull our port facilities out to remain consistent?