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>>>>>Because they are wealthy, and they are good at it.

That is a weak arguemnt.

>>>>I think there are plenty of concerns that need to be looked at without invoking the "all Arabs are out to get us" argument. We need to deal with them, we will never eliminate them.

Been closely following the events in the ME since the 1960`s and I am fairly well versed in the history of ME affairs. That is by-product of growing up around NYCity Jews. For me, the events of the last 60 years were highlighted by the 9-11 attacks. By all accounts, half the Islamic world hates America and the other half aren't thrilled with us either. What I see today, is a population of 350 million people in the ME, comprised with a large contingent of Islamic jihadists and islamofascists who hate western civilization, the US and of course, Israel. Now that we are in the midst of the terrorist world fighting these religious fanatics, in Afghanistan and Iraq, we need to stay put and kill as many of these US hating terrorists as we can, before they kill us. You want to open the US to foreign entities that have a history of extreme hostility to the American people and our very way of life. Again, I don't want any foreign entity from having any management control or access to the daily operations of critical aspects of US infrastructure on our homeland. Period.

Those two "reasons" did not comprise my entire argument. As long as the ME has a valuable commodity that we "need", we will continue to have to deal with them as their "crack-whores". Cutting them off entirely sounds good, and I wish we had that ability. But they have something we need almost as bad as we need oxygen. Nothing would do my soul more good than to watch the whole region revert back to goatherding. Until then, we will have to continue to nurture our unsavory "alliance".

You want to open the US to foreign entities that have a history of extreme hostility to the American people and our very way of life.

Assuming you mean UAE since that is one of the two "foreign entities" that are the subjects of the deal, perhaps you can tell me about this "history of extreme hostility"? The other "foreign entity" involved is the UK, which I know has a well documented "history of extreme hostility toward the American people and their very way of life".

BTW, I never said I wanted to "open the US to foreign entities that have a history of extreme hostility to the American people and our very way of life". And I am not necessarily for the UAE deal going through, as I clearly stated in previous posts.

Your argument has an absolutist, "friend or foe" foundation. But any study of history will show that dynamics between nations have always involved shades of gray, AND ALWAYS WILL. For your absolutist doctrine to hold true, we should move our Navy and Air Force assets out of the Dubai ports, shouldn't we? And if so, where will we rebase them, since the whole region is full of "America haters"? As it stands now we have a serious footprint in Dubai, LESS THAN FIFTY MILES FROM THE NAVAL FLEET OF OUR MOST SERIOUS ADVERSARY, IRAN. I have a strong hunch that this factor weigh heavily in Bush's calculations. But he can't admit that, now can he?