Sounds like typical Arab blackmail to me. Now it seems we MUST give them these contracts or they will bee "humiliated" and "insulted" and will retaliate.
News flash: it is as impossible to truly insult an arab as it is to insult a dog.
It is not necessarily "blackmail." It is common sense. If the situation was reversed and they put up a stink about us operating port terminals there, don't you think we'd be less inclined to do business with them in the future?
Indeed, but that doesn't lessen concerns, not just for trade but for saftey of our ships and military assets in the region. I'm more concerned about the safety of our forces than anything else. We have a lot of stuff piled up over there.
News flash: Good thing you're not running our Republic.