First, 9/11 was a long time ago only to those with some rather serious memory problems. You mis-quoted me, I'm afraid, then disagreed with your straw man. By accident, I'm sure ;-).
I said, "Pre-9/11 was a long time ago". In other words, 9/11 changed everything. You're quoting connections from before 9/11, which are not relevant in a post-9/11 world.
Since 9/11, UAE has been a steadfast ally of the US. Agreed?
A small sampling follows:
- Everyone, from criminals to terrorists to golfers, considers Dubai a meeting place. Not exactly evidence of anything . . . and that article itself states explicitly that U.A.E. rulers have taken terrorism seriously since 9/11. This is not evidence showing UAE is a danger to us.
- Some bad guys have in the past used Dubai as a base of operations? So? Any evidence the govt of UAE was complicit with those bad guys? Again, no evidence the UAE is a danger to us.
- One of the oil-for-food companys was based in Dubai? Again, so? This is not evidence that the UAE is a danger to us.
- The rest all go on like this. Some nuke parts smuggling when thru there. Their banks have laundered some money. The state department says they aren't good to their people.
Not one single piece of evidence incriminating the UAE govt or DPW in that long posting.
It's very simple -- just post one piece of evidence showing that DPW or the govt of UAE is a threat to US port security.
Long posts with off-topic mentions of UAE won't help your factual case. Yes, bad things happen in UAE: smuggling, drugs, crime, etc. Like all countries.
I'm sorry, but your dismissal of the evidence is not only ludicrous, it borders on the delusional. The UAE is an ally of convenience. We need their ports for our Navy. Which is why we turn a blind eye to their ongoing behavior, including their refusal to relinquish financial information pertaining to Bin Laden, their financial support of Hamas, their relations with Iran, and their wide open money laundering, smuggling of weapons, smuggling of nuclear materials, and terrorist and jihadist facilitation.
That does not mean we have to turn a blind eye to these things when it comes to turning over domestic infrastructure.