Posted on 03/16/2006 5:02:26 AM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
In retrospect, America went collectively insane over the possibility that a company owned by Dubai's government would operate several of our ports.
Rarely has reason been so routed by pure emotion. Dubai is a Westernizing state that long ago left the eighth century and accepts the modern world of globalized commerce and finance. This member of the United Arab Emirates has -- especially after Sept. 11 -- passed on intelligence, hosted our fleet and provided a foothold in the gulf near Iraq and Iran.
For a country that is addicted to imported petroleum, hooked on cheap imported goods and eager for illegal-alien labor, and which has hundreds of military bases abroad, it is a little late to worry about dangerous foreign ganglia.
. . . the Dubai port deal shows how at odds are American perceptions and reality. For the past half-century, we have been living in a complex interconnected world of mutual reliance.
Soon we will import more food than we grow. We already burn more oil than we pump. For years we have bought more than we export, and we borrow far more than we lend. To justify these precarious dependencies, America assures foreign business leaders, investors and lenders that our markets remain open and immune to the distortions of xenophobia and provincialism.
Americans may not like that devil's bargain, but it was made long ago and, for better or worse, we are long past being an agrarian republic.
The resulting singular affluence of the American consumer derives from just these trade-offs in our autonomy -- and the trust we receive from those who loan and sell us things we cannot immediately pay for. So rejecting the Dubai port deal is not only hypocritical, but in the end dumb.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Pull out one from 1942 or 1947. You'll see the same names.
So German and Japanese companies were still delivering goods to America after the war started? Please do tell where they docked, and what Ports we allowed them to control?
Hint! Look for the piers controlled by the Hamburg-Amerika Linie (Hamburg-America Lines) and Nord Deutcher Lloyd Bremen
Since when did managing a few terminals equate to "controlling our ports". And last time I checked the UAE had boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Again, no foreigner controlled any ports. They ran piers. After 1941, their US assets were frozen. However, last I checked, we are not at war with Dubai.
I have changed my mind on national security since 9/11. After 9/11, I like many Americans believed the President when he said, "Islam is a religion of peace". 4+ years later I have learned that that is entirely wrong, and the words "moderate Muslim" are an oxymoron. There are good human beings in the cult, but the cult itself is one of submission and death. Pick any date in recent history, and I can show you multiple attacks on the world by Muslims who are Hell bent on destroying western civilization. If this fact gets in the way of your globalism, tough shite'!
Slap, slap, slap.....
Take that FReepers.
In heading off a dirty bomb attack, the Dubai/ports issue is a gnat in a hurricane compared to our unguarded southern border.
Perhaps it did, but Hansen is correct: this was a purely emotional controversy, fanned primarily by cynical Democrats who played on fear, not reason.
Please make your point without the name calling
Thanks
/sarcasm off/
No it isn't.
Dubai is merely a luxurious little country-club community for the OPEC princelings.
The LAST thing in the world these pissant little oligarchs want is a government that resembles democracy.
As I listened to so many so-called "conservatives" in government and media engage in blatant posturing and grandstanding about this issue, I must say that I have never been so embarrassed about my political leanings in my life. Listening to morons like Peter King, Sean Hannity, and Michael Weiner Savage weigh in on the UAE port deal was like listening to an adult try to tell me that the Easter Bunny is real.
Even Mark Levin was totally ignorant on this at first, but I do give that man credit for educating himself about the issue very quickly. He didn't change his opinion about the deal, but at least he got the facts right.
Thank you for pointing out the facts of what the UAE really is.
Have you been to Dubai?
Heck no... are you kidding?
I'm not rich enough to go there.
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