Posted on 02/25/2006 3:00:55 AM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
February 24, 2006: The recent controversy over the acquisition of the British firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, by Dubai Ports World, a state-run company in the United Arab Emirates, has been largely a matter of heat opposed to light. This is largely because of a number of myths that have quickly circulated throughout the blogosphere. These myths have led to a lot of controversy that has cast one of the strongest American allies in the Persian Gulf in a poor light that is undeserved.
First, a look at the United Arab Emirates is in order. This is a country that has been a long-standing ally of the United States since 1971. The UAE was part of the coalition to liberate Kuwait in 1991, and also has supported the United States in the war on terror (including, among other things, providing access to a deep-water berth that can accommodate aircraft carriers, use of a training facility for air-to-air training facility, airfields, and logistics support). It is a country that has proven largely inhospitable to al-Qaeda (instead, the focus is on business), sent forces to Afghanistan to protect the construction of a hospital that they donated and built, and also has sent humanitarian assistance to Iraq while also providing a location for training Iraqi police. In 2002, the UAE also captured a major al-Qaeda figure, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who was involved in the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, and handed him over to the United States despite threats from the terrorist organization. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the UAE donated $100 million for the relief efforts. Both Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Peter Pace have described the relationship the United States has with United Arab Emirates as "very close" and "superb". It would be interesting to know what sort of information Michelle Malkin has that would override the judgment of Rumsfeld and Pace. Her characterization of the United Arab Emirates as "demonstrably unreliable" is not just factually challenged, it is slap in the face to the strongest ally the United States has in the Persian Gulf.
One of the other things that has been ignored in the anti-UAE diatribes from Malkin is the fact that the United Arab Emirates is a Middle Eastern country where religious tolerance is the rule. The UAE's constitution guarantees freedom of religion (albeit it declares Islam as the official religion), and largely permits religious freedom. In 2003, the UAE shut down the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up, which was publishing material that promoted anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
Second, nothing will really change at the ports, particularly with regards to security. Security will remain the province of the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. In another fact ignored by the scare campaign, the UAE has the only port in the Middle East that is part of the Container Security Initiative. Dubai Ports World has also agreed to mandatory participation in other programs to improve security and to prevent the illegal shipment of nuclear materials, and will also provide documents on internal operations on demand and has agreed to cooperate in future investigations. The deal was also scrutinized by the intelligence community, which found no problems. The only thing that changes hands is who owns the company that will handle the day-to-day operations (often performed by American longshoremen – usually unionized). Dubai Ports World also bought out the port operations of CSX in 2004 – with no real issues.
Third, several claims have been made regarding connections to 9/11, specifically the fact that two of the hijackers were from the UAE. First, none of the critics have any proof that either the government of the UAE or Dubai Ports World was involved in the attack. By the standard of these critics, the United Kingdom would be held responsible for Richard Reid, or Germany would be responsible for the Hamburg cell that planned the attack. Second, the United Arab Emirates have stepped up efforts to make money laundering less easy after Dubai was used as a financial conduit for the attacks (again, there is no proof that the UAE or DPW were active participants in the laundering). It should also be noted that at least two Americans have worked with al-Qaeda (Johnny Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla) as well.
The last thing to consider is that in the day and age of the Internet, this debate is not staying inside the United States. Past irresponsible comments (like those by Senator Richard Durbin concerning Guantanamo Bay) have spread across the world very quickly. The scurrilous comments directed at the United Arab Emirates by Michelle Malkin have the potential to assist al-Qaeda recruiting in that country, and thus do more damage than the port deal would have done.
Kabar,
I give up. I was only there for a few months between '99 and '00 though I had family there for years. I lived in the compound behind their WTC across from the prince's horse track. I'm sure you know the place. I drafted a long response to you but I trashed it. It serves no purpose. It goes way beyond religious freedom and you know exactly what I'm talking about. We both know if we sit down and write about what we can and can't do over there and how we can do what is allowed it doesn't amount to a hill of beans when you're talking about the freedoms western civilization has struggled for almost two thousand years to win. I just thought I owed you this. As I said, I give up. When you get really tired, and maybe a little old as I am, pigs with lipstick don't look so bad. I just won't go out with them.
Regards,
Cornpone
the ChiComs have the west coast ports...the unions have everything in between*~*
Aah the ever so silly "I'll invent a strawman to argue against instead of the actual position he holds."
You nailed it. In such a market they have to find a way to distinguish themselves. So knowing as they do their audience, they have to attempt a "rebel" stance...even if all they ended up doing here is following the herd.
I really enjoy Levin because HIS nastiness towards liberal callers is actually humorous, but it's disappointing how he went with the crowd in this case. True independence would be examining the actual facts and not CARING if that meant you were "with" the President or not.
It sure has been an interesting few days watching the kooks come out around here! I am happy, though, that no one who "argued" against the deal was a poster I'd head about before. Makes one suspicious--we need to put Philip Marlowe on the job.
What a silly rhetorical question. If you can't tell the difference, there's no helping you. So I'll just use your logic:
Italy and Japan were enemies during WW2--should we have not embraced them as economic and political partners after?
Who cares about Bush's legacy, I care about whether or not it's right to go through with this sale of the ports, and nothing I've seen makes me think we should not.
Oh that'll be Must-Miss Radio.
Savage commits the cardinal sin of radio: He's boring.
Sure. But Bush uses the WOT for everything now. Everything is about national security.
As for the sale I don't really care what Bush thinks. It's just a further erosion of our nation due to the sale to the highest bidder. It's not about national security to a lot of people - it's about money regardless of future consequences.
I'm afraid that the WOT right now IS everything just about because it's all so interconnected. The federal government has to get back to its core purposes, and one of those very few REAL reasons for existence is the security of those in the nation.
I'm not sure how old you are, but I work with teenagers, and have for some time, and I can tell you this: The WOT is to the coming generations what Pearl Harbor was to an earlier one. It's not about having a larger historical perspective vs. a personal one (in which history doesn't matter, just what *I* know from my life)--it's more about an emotional impact that's just never going to go away. And that's going to steer politics for the rest of my life, at least (I'm 40).
I was in Dubai two months ago.
Fear and ignorance is what this is all about.
I don't require anybody to applaud. Just quit whining.
Do we have any airports run by somebody other than ourselves?
I agree that we should run our own borders.
I don't know how you separate "security" from "allies." If it weren't for the security issues, we wouldn't need any allies.
some allies are more closely allied with us than others.
we gave stalin trucks during WW2, but we didn't let him run our ports.
a lot of it depends on how closely the interests of the 2 nations coincide, as well as the historical relationship betweeb the 2 countries.
"I love Michelle Malkin, but she's so very wrong in this case that it's not funny. Spreading hysterical nonsense about an ally doesn't help the WOT. In fact, she and others of her ilk have only helped the dems's efforts to promote a "Arabs = Enemies" fear, which sure isn't going to aid our fight."
I continue to love Michelle Malkin for being principled and honest to the core.
Spreading rumors that the UAE is an ally should be chargeable as treason.
Are we a friend of Israel or not? Does the UAE trade with Israel? If no, why not? The answer of course is no. The why is because they hate Israel and seek it's destruction. So exactly how can the UAE be our ally in the war on terror while privately seeking and promoting the destruction of Israel? That's some "ally."
In addition Dubai UAE is building the world's tallest skyscraper as a symbol of the twins we lost. Think about it.
Moreover, the UAE cannot possibly be a true ally when it was one of the few countries to proclaim the taliban as the govt of Afghanistan...and is a strong proponent of the hamas.
Methinks you should reconsider your allies. Now, I know they allow us flyover space and a landing strip, obviously that is better than having us determine them the true enemy they actually are...and making them our future target as we continue to prosecute the war on terror.
what exactly is your relationship with the government and business community in dubai?
And so many of "us" bought the Left's fear mongering, panicked, and jumped ship.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.