Posted on 02/25/2006 3:00:55 AM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
I agree. As I posted yesterday, let us recall the infamous picture of Secretary Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand.
We cannot forget that the stakes could not be higher. It is not hyperbole to say that the future of Western Civilization is at stake--these people are fighting the Crusades, part II. Beyond the U.S., there is no other country with both the will and the means to protect it.
The UAE is currently a terrific ally in the WOT? Great, let's reward them. But in some other way.
Well, Americans haven't been killing anybody, they've been talking and trying to find out the truth.
And for the people who are lashing out at the "hysterics", well, even the President had no idea what was going on.
Maybe there is nothing to worry about. But within the span of a few short days, a bombshell that nobody understood was dropped on us.
I don't think people have to get angry at each other just because they have differences of opinions that are based on sketchy information (I've been to Dubai, etc.).
And so far, I still think it's a bad idea. It is unfortunate that a (current) ally is being mistreated, but that is as a result of the current system, which apparently didn't require approval from Homeland Security (at the least).
Wow, that is a great point.
But again, the blame lies in the system that is in place. Is there some reason that after 9/11, deals involving ports weren't required to be approved at the highest levels?
I couldn't agree more. Well said.
Your Star Wars analogy is entirely appropriate and exactly how I described it to my wife. I have never been in a more internationally diverse country in my life. Sit down in a local restaurant and you'd swear you were in some cheesy UN advertisement. Every single person seemed to be wearing styles of clothes representative of a different country. There was even a guy wearing what looked like a Cossack outfit complete with a black sheepskin hat.
"It's still Islamic, and Dubaians still abide in the Koran, right?"
Not only that, it is also Arab. But it is an Arab and Islamic success story. If we have any hope at all of the Middle East moving beyond an Islamic cesspool of poverty and terrorist incubation, it is countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and more and more Kuwait that will have to lead the pack. There are lightyear's of difference between Islamic countries like Syria and Saudi Arabia, and the UAE and Bahrain. It is very difficult to tell the difference between downtown Dubai and downtown Singapore or even Tokyo. The UAE represents the next wave in cultural development in the Middle East. They have moved beyond an oil based economy and are looking toward the future. And its working.
"Is there evidence the UAE has supported terrorism? Al Qaeda?" etc.
If there is, I'm not aware of any after 2001, and it is certainly overwhelmed by incredible support they've provided us in the War on terror. Remember that the Al Qaeda propaganda involving the UAE that is being circulated by the media is actually an ultimatum from Al Qaeda to the UAE demanding they stop cooperating with the US in the War on Terror.
"Been involved in international money laundering, and third-party arms trading?"
No more so than most European nations.
"Does not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation?"
That has never stopped us from having diplomatic or economic ties with any other nation. Why should it now?
How about they also have Israel open up an embassy in UAE, and they enter into a formal agreement recognizing their right to exist.
Yes, that would go a long way.
If you take oil out of the equation there would basically be no capitalism there at all, nor would there be "the highest income per person in the world" in the world. Look at Muslim countries that don't have oil, in contrast the US was a wealthy capitalistic country before oil.
In short, "the highest income per person in the world" is not because of their society, it is because of oil money. They didn't look for oil, they didn't drill the first wells, they didn't pump the first oil, it was someone else, and now because of capitalism from the outside, not inside, they can afford the wealthy welfare state they have.
thanks for your post. i am glad to hear from somebody who has done business there.
saudi arabia has often been our ally, but many influential saudis have supported al qaeda.
i would bet that there are plenty of people in the UAE who support al qaeda and hamas.
stalin was our ally during WW2. i guess some people would have let him take over the operation of our ports. after all, if we criticized him, we would have hurt the russians feelings!
keep posting!
I agree, and I've posted before that this deal possibly sends a very demoralizing message to the troops currently fighting in the Middle East. That is another reason why GW's veto talk really disturbs me.
Lol, unbelievable, eh?
Thanks for an informative, honest, and sane response.
I'm currently collecting articles on this topic, since it seems Congress (my Rep. is Peter King and my Senator is Schumer) will be looking into the UAE deal and larger topic of port security. I welcome corrective input.
I like the fact that the UAE is competing with the Chinese, especially since the (partly) Chinese government run company (COSCO -- Clinton's friends) is making moves to increase their stake in world shipping and in running ports.
Is COSCO the world's second largest shipping company?
Did COSCO "acquire" a large company that is expert at handling port business? (COSTACO)
Is COSCO involved in a deal to buy a stake in a Greek port?
Did COSCO get a special exemption from US laws "discriminating" against state-owned shipping companies?
I noticed, yesterday, that he's pretending he isn't changing his position.
i don't think we should make our allies "look like dirt bags". but we should run our own ports, airports, and borders (without smearing our allies).
many of our allies have mixed histories.
we need to keep separate the importance of our security and the importance of not smearing our allies.
"This guy" is hchutch who use to post here.
stalin was our ally during WW2. should we have turned our ports over to the soviets?
Thank you. :)
i don't think we have to smear our ally, the UAE. if they don't allow Jews to enter the country (and i don't know that this is true), they don't have elections, and apparently they have supported hamas and the talaban, their actions speak for themselves.
i have read on FR that the UAE supported the talaban and still supports hamas.
we can do business with such allies, but we don't need to let them run port operations.
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