Posted on 03/02/2006 6:26:44 PM PST by AntiGuv
Oh, I agree with all that. Just surprised at Duncan Hunter and didn't understand your comment.
You'd better get right over to the WH and straighten the President out!
When did he out it? The Wall Street Journal wrote about this on Oct. 31st. Is that a secret publication?
The opening act of George Bush lameduck President.
I got a 20 dollar bill that says he won't stop it....any takers?
The Krauts! There is after all some history to this in WWI.
The President says whatever he wants to say, but our military deployments say otherwise.
I have been saying all along that the deal will go though.
But I'll grant you irrelevant may be too strong a term. Optional would probably work better.
In any case, I've now reached an opinion on the whole DP World issue: I think the controversy is nonsense, but it's turned into a political debacle. From a political standpoint the answer is obvious: Put a fork in it. From a national security standpoint the answer is: Whatever. And from a PR in the Arab world standpoint the answer is: Things are 'bout to go boom!
Hunter has also been an advocate of American manufacturing.
If my info isn't out of date, we use two airstrips in the UAE, Al Dhafra and Fujairah, but they are not our primary facilities by a long stretch. Those are in Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. And we use one port of call at Jebel Ali, but our primary naval facility is at Bahrein.
Will you please stop this thinking and making sense! I've warned you before, I may have to...take action. :-)
If their people have no physical presence at the terminal facilities, nor are foreigners involved in any of the operation they might hire, e.g. our stevadores do the work, and the port security is controled by the state/city/port authorities, and the US customs and US Coast Guard are resposible for the container inspections (that is a known weak area as some have brought up, simply not sufficient tools and personel to inspect all incoming containers, a rather shabby 5% often being thrown out), it would appear DPW has little control over anything in the reality of things.
But But they'll be writing the paychecks! We can't have that!
Yeah, I guess he just says whatever pops into his mind. The same must be true of several military analysts I've heard and several FReepers who have been to the port in Dubai who all have said it is the biggest and busiest and best run US Naval port outside the US. I don't know for sure, I haven't been there. I have also heard the same about staging air operations out of the UAE. So many liars so little time.
And it should. As Sinkspur said it politics. What gets me is people like Bill Bennet, Hugh Hewitt have come out against it.
Yes, you're right - I was wrong - with regard to the naval facilities. Jebel Ali is a much bigger deal than I remembered about it. I should've looked it up first!
LOL Well so many things go boom when Arabs are involved. Oops, my Islamophobia is showing. /sarcasm
I just don't see the military or political advantage (for the Pres. or the dimwith Pubbies) in giving the Dems concessions on this. Has it ever paid off before? Whatever advantage our alliance with the UAE gives us seems to me to be worth more than cheap political points the MSM will never let a Pubbie cash in.
Noted, and thanks. I like him on border security too.
These are are our primary navy & air force facilities in the Persian Gulf region.
Navy
Manama, Bahrein
Jebel Ali, UAE
Diego Garcia
Air Force
Al Udeid, Qatar
Ahmed Al Jaber, Kuwait
Ali Al Salem, Kuwait
Masirah, Oman
Thumrait, Oman
Things like this really make me hate politics.
I don't understand their positions, just maybe they are need to know more of the facts about it about?
This is a no-big-deal deal and every Pubbie who is against it could have stood firm, stayed quiet, let it run its course and then used it against the Dems in the fall. Instead they thought it might look good to wear their own dunce caps. The public is slow but they're not stupid. By Nov. Americans will be booking vacations in Dubai because of all that they have learned about it.
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.