I agree with you. We, a country in wartime, are in a very bad place. Bush, however, is not without blame.
It should have been obvious to him that the port deal (among other things) would be a lose-lose politically for the GOP. Common sense and the survival instinct will trump arcane explanations anytime.
You don't spend political capital (political capital that you don't even have) on such a loser. And certainly not post-9/11, not in an election year, not when the specter of 'clinton-the sequel' is looming large.
You want to 'reward' the UAE? You give them a deal that has no national security consequences-real or apparent. You don't relinquish your only strong suit to the democrats.
What could he have been thinking? Was he thinking at all?
Another investment opportunity for those with the big bucks are construction cranes used to erect highrise buildings. Each one you see on the horizon is on top a project of one-half billion dollars or more.
Buying into Islamofascist and DNC talking points designed to sew enmity between the US and a major Middle-Eastern military staging area (for us) is not really all that good an investment.
I'm not so sure about that. This is run-of-the-mill business even as it concerns a ME country. International politics has some importance even when weighed against the all-important future of the great GOP (aka The Socialist Lite Party).
...not when the specter of 'clinton-the sequel' is looming large.
That's a specter that holds no fear for me. She doesn't have a ghost of a chance.
You want to 'reward' the UAE? You give them a deal that has no national security consequences-real or apparent.
I don't see it as a reward to the UAE. It's just capitalism in action. To knock this deal down for its superficial appearances is, in my view, giving them the back of our hand. The UAE may not be a paragon of virtue among nations (who is? France? Germany?) but they cooperate on a level that far outstrips any other ME Arab country. (and far better than many EU nations)
If there's one thing I can praise Pres. Bush for over anything else it's the fact that he doesn't pander to perceptions. He confronts reality and acts on it in more ways than any other President I can think of and most other politicians period. I realize that some consider political perceptions to be a reality too but I consider that rather ephemeral and superficial in comparison to the realities of terrorism.
You don't relinquish your only strong suit to the democrats.
As I see it the Pubbies who have jumped out and opposed this without study or thought are the ones who handed this to the Dems. I also see a very big opportunity to use Dem opposition to this deal to bring them down another notch in the public eye slipping through Republican fingers. This one would have been easy because the facts don't support opposition to the deal and the basic premises of opposition hold no water with even a cursory analysis. It's not the kind of issue that can be kept confused for a long period of time like the Plame thing. At least it wasn't.
It comes down to priorities. A solid war footing or re-election prospects. I maintain that the Pubbies who opposed this for political gain have swallowed a false premise that this elevates election gains. Holding firm through the frequent squalls of political posturing and maintaining an unwavering course in the WOT would have served political ambitions better. Letting your enemy flank you out of fear that they might take the high ground, while you yet hold the high ground, is foolish to put it mildly.