Posted on 03/08/2006 2:53:43 PM PST by Ooh-Ah
House Appropiations Committe voted to block Dubai deal
Meanwhile, Bush is called a liberal around here, and what I see is a President who can't just wave a magic wand and make things the way some folks want them, and gets bashed incessantly. Meanwhile, he's done a lot more as far as taxes go than Saint Ronald Reagan did. (I love Reagan, too, but the blind adoration of him is a bit much to take in contrast to W.) Bush has led the WOT so well--not perfectly, but well--that most people don't seem to grasp how difficult a job he's had balancing our interests with those of imperfect but necessary allies like Dubai.
We've spent years rightly bashing Turkey for screwing us in the Iraq War, and now the "conservatives" in Congress are giving the UAE an invitation to do precisely the same thing when we attack Iran. And those against this deal--who don't seem to understand a thing about it other than Middle Easterners are involved--will be the first to scream "SEE? SEE?!?!?! They're not our allies!"
And what exactly are these allies getting for their documented assitance to us in the WOT?
And what is Bush getting from the "conservatives" in Congress?
Whatever
Control over our vital infrastructure? Please detail exactly how they will control our infrastructure. I'd love to see some concrete examples of how this deal is going to change any aspect of port operations.
Many of them are interested only in staying rich. Some others have mixed money/jihad loyalties. (There's alot of "royalty" in Dubai.)
Besides, I thought a major defense of the deal is that they're not going to "manage the terminals" in any way.
(Nevermind the other talking point that they are supposedly the only company on the planet that can perform that difficult "do nothing at all" when it comes to port management.)
I'll bet these politicians do nothing all day except watch the skewed polls and try to figure out which position to take. They probably have little radio earpieces when they're on the floor so their offices can keep them alerted to the latest polling update. All the MSM has to do now is claim 51% of Americans want Bush impeached and these Republicans will be drawing up the plans.
They will run the terminals at some of our most important ports. That means they will have access to a lot of information that I would prefer them not to have, including our security procedures, security schedules, etc.
I have suggested here at least 5 times without ANY response that people read "The Outlaw Sea" by William Langewiesche. You will learn how chaotic and un-policed the international shipping system is. It's bone-chilling when you realize what could happen.
Clearly, it would be easier for a Middle-Eastern terrorist to infiltrate DPW than an American-run company. Clearly, information that is best not shared with an Arab government would be compromised by this deal.
I WANT to be friends with the UAE. I think there are countless opportunities to enhance our alliance. But this one just isn't feasible.
Not at all ....
They're still on.
Nope. I'm not a conservative republican.
I'm 100% conservative. I'm not sure I could point out a single conservative in the "Republican" Senate, for example.
I think the Federal Gov should defend the country by killing terrorists with lots of high explosive. I think the Executive should win in Iraq and make it a a country that is less likely to disrupt energy supplies in the ME and send Anthrax to the US.
I want the FedGov to fund the Coast Guard and Border Patrol and defund the dept of Ed. I think the Federal Governement should legalize and legitimize the Minutemen, and quit wasting time with one woman in Floriduh's assisted suicide/murder debacle. I think Congress should make the tax cuts permanent, and cut them more. I think Congress should repeal the welfare state.
And I think that killing this port deal will lead to the nationalizing of the port terminals a la DHS, which will get us nothing other than TSA-type mini-power trippers holding up cargo shipments while ship captains have to take their shoes off and respect au-thor-it-tie!
http://www.nscsaamerica.com/marine_term.htm
This Saudi-owned company runs 9 ports in the US, including two in my hometown (La Porte). This is crazy, all the hubbub over the UAE, when I would be more worried about the Saudis any day!
Oh really? Do we own them? Are they our slaves now?
Terminal operators don't get access to classified information.
The security of our country should never depend of the secrecy of unclassified information.
Did you learn that in World Geography with Jay Bennish?
Come on. You're being willfully naive if you think a terminal operator has NO information about security that you or I wouldn't have regular access to. That's just not realistic.
According to the congress, it's nothing personal against the UAE, it's just political season and they picked the wrong time to run some US terminals. If they had waited till December then there would not have been an issue.
Cboldt The SHIPPER, the captain of the ship, if you will, controls the ship's manifest. COSCO ships all sorts of stuff into West Coast ports, but I don't know which terminals they control, if any.
Shoot, S.A. ships to our terminals. I've got a nice image of an Saudi ship snuggling its way between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
I'll repeat it again since you seemed to have willfully missed what I said.
Terminal operators don't get access to classified information. The security of our country should never depend of the secrecy of unclassified information.
Fair enough.
But my position is that our ports are ALREADY woefully insecure. We should be moving forcefully in the opposite direction of this deal. This deal does not increase our security, and has the potential of decreasing it. That's not acceptable.
Yet again, I recommend "The Outlaw Sea" by William Langeweische. Why hasn't one single supporter of this deal claimed to have read this book?
They will operate some terminals at 9 ports. Do you understand what I mean by "operate"?
That means they will have access to a lot of information that I would prefer them not to have, including our security procedures, security schedules, etc.
They have access to our procedures already. Every port shipping goods to the USA knows what to expect. We have inspectors in their ports checking containers already. They're not going to have access to "security schedules" but they'll already know that any container with a broken seal is going to be checked by DHS. They already know which containers are likely to be flagged for inspection.
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