Rokke, it's ALWAYS opinion and speculation here at FR, isn't it? We assess on what we see, hear, AND feel.
Of course I wasn't privy to what the White House may or may not have suggested to Abizaid, but let's put it THIS way:
Maybe the word for Abizaid shouldn't have been described as "ordered," but "solicited" by the WH to speak as he did on the matter, while he undoubtedly had his comments greenlighted by the WH. I still believe his comment was inappropriate.
As to my other questions posed towards Abizaid, I was playing devil's advocate of follow-up questions by the MSM whose answers (though honest) may have proven embarrassing or inappropriate as well.
"When was the last time we canceled a major business deal with an ally because we said we couldn't trust them due to their ethnicity? That is going to have a long term impact on our future relations with the UAE. And it is going to hurt us."
Well, opposition to this particular business deal had less to do with "Arab," and more to do with the wacky tenets of their religion -- Islam.
When the "business" involves national security, Muslims are just not trusted by Americans.
Perhaps if the UAE's track record as an "ally" was longer....
So just how do you think the rejection of this deal will "hurt us?"
That "hurt" will go BOTH ways if that's the way the UAE wants to play it.
No. And you are one of the best at sticking to facts to prove your point. That is the reason your comments about Abizaid stuck out to me in the first place.
"So just how do you think the rejection of this deal will "hurt us?""
In the spirit of opinion and speculation, here is how I think this will hurt us. First, militarily...it reduces the incentive for Arab nations to work with us, because they won't get anything in return. Saddam Hussein was their biggest threat and he's gone. The next biggest threat is terrorism. Al Qaeda has already directly threatened the UAE for its cooperation with us in the war on terror. The fastest way to reduce that threat is to stop cooperating with our military. They can close their ports to our military traffic and boot our surveillance assets out of Al Dhafra. Both resources are far more important to us than they are helpful to the UAE and we'll have no leverage if they decide to kick us out. Even if they decide not to kick us out all together, they can significantly complicate our operations by tying everything up with red tape and regulations. Again, there won't be a thing we can do about it.
In business and commerce, I expect we will lose a lot of significant contracts. The UAE is one of the fastest growing trade centers in the world. They have a lot of money to spend, and not a lot of indigenous business to spend it on. They import just about everything, and currently the US is its largest supplier. Everyone from Donald Trump to Lockheed Martin is making money in the UAE. But there is a lot of competition, and we just gave them a good reason to look at other options. My guess is the biggest winner from this debacle will be France, who is just waiting to edge their way into the UAE market. The party will go on, but we just took a leak on the living room carpet, and our welcome is wearing thin.
"That "hurt" will go BOTH ways if that's the way the UAE wants to play it."
How could we hurt the UAE? Kick them out of our ports? They hold all the cards here, including and especially one of the most strategic locations on the planet.