More Porto

All this guff about the risks of the UAE "running our ports" is just so much crap it makes me want to puke. The folks from Dubai Ports are no different from the previous owners P&O -- a UK firm. This is not going to change how security is managed, it is not going to "deprive" the vermin from the teamsters from extorting their "fair share" of the loot, the Coast Guard is not going to have to do anything different either. This is an administrative deal. Plain and simple. Either we believe in fair trade, open borders or we don't. Or are we telling the world that we do except for Arabs -- or the object of political manipulation/scorn du jour? Sort of sounds like the free speech double standard -- at least we are consistent hypocites.

But let's look at these "Arabs." In Dubai, you can drink alcohol, eat pork, buy and sell just about anything in the world, walk the streets with considerably less fear than you would in ANY United States city, carouse, hit on members of the opposite sex without fear of the religious police (or PC police, or far right lunatics that we have in the US), etc., etc. Dubai is also one of the few places that the US military can come and visit and feel safe. When the US fleet enters port, they operate joint security with the UAE military ... to our standards. US sailors and airmen are welcome. The thing about Dubai is that it IS already what we so desperately want to achieve throughout the Arab world: stable, friendly, not given to anti-western riots, capitalist and not wanting to set up a theocracy. Dubai actively cooperates with US and Western intelligence (unlike some of Dubai's close neighbors ... notice that all the terrorists that tried to blow up the oil refinery are ending up dead ... shot and not captured), and our military.

Dubai has also been the Middle East's version of Switzerland for hundreds of years (maybe a couple of thousand). It is oil-poor (less that 10% of Dubai's revenue comes from oil) and in the past, has been aggressively neutral. They don't want you problems, they want your trade and money. Full stop. They are, of course, part of the UAE, but don't make a mistake in thinking that Dubai is like Abu Dhabi ... it is not. The local Sheik does not like that idea. And, if the truth be known, nor does the Sheik next door in Abu Dhabi, or even Saudi: Dubai represents a very necessary outlet for the rigors and strictures of more dour Islamic states. And when a Saudi or other Arab wants to cut loose, where does he go? Dubai. It is truly international. Of course, Al Qaeda money went through Dubai -- there's no other place it would go! Do you think the Nazis banked in London? No, it was Switzerland -- and still is for most self-interested dictators and government thieves around the world. Dubai is just trying to be number 2. Dubai does not want terrorism, they want to sell hotel rooms, golf, gold and banking services -- a cross between Las Vegas and Zurich.

If everyone is wetting themselves about an Arab take-over, place some security restrictions on operational management. But don't lets surrender to knee-jerk idiocy for politics sake. Speaking of idiots, Barbara Boxer called for a ban on any foreign ownership of ports/terminals in the US. According to the Los Angeles Times 13 of 14 operators of the Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach are foreign. One is Chinese and government owned (Cosco). And Senator Boxer is the junior senator from ... California.

Now if memory serves me right, Cosco (not Costco) tried to move to an abandoned US military terminal in Long Beach to open a large container terminal -- Clinton was President and the move was eventually scorched for fear of the Chinese using the terminal as a base for spying. Boxer was a rabid supporter of that move. The Chinese are great at running ports in the US! Now this seems to be a bit of a contradiction ... Boxer wouldn't be trying to make some cheap political points against Boosh at the expense of international respect for the US? She wouldn't be so crass ... would she?

Trouble for Dubbya is that this is the perfect storm for him: the right wing nutsos want to axe the sale because of fears of "Ay-rabs and Mooslim terrorists." The left and liberals want to kill it because they want to do anything they can to hurt Boosh, irrespective of how badly it hurts the US internationally. Then there is the administration ... screwed. And all of us -- screwed as well by both liberal and right wing hate mongers ... each with their own agenda, and neither looking out for the US or us. Frikkin idiots.