Ob-la-di, Ob-la-Dubai
Politics can really be a sticky wicket.
The current firestorm over the intended sales of 6 U.S. ports has certainly been an interesting show. Some of you assume I'm a "goosestepper" to the Bush administration, but that's really not the truth. Anytime the policy revolves around foreign interest in our country, I turn into an ultra-isolationist. This one though, has me scratching my head.
On one side, the Bush Administration wants to allow the sale of control of 6 U.S. ports to a company based in Dubai. This would be no different than any other company that has interests on U.S. soil. Despite the political posturing and misinformation campaign launched by Democrats such as Joseph Biden, security would still fall under the control of the U.S. and Homeland Security.
On the other hand, there's the seemingly irrational paranoia that turning control of a U.S. port over to a Middle Eastern interest means that we're setting ourselves up for security breaches and terrorist infiltration. In the last several years, much emphasis has been placed on the porous U.S. borders, especially at our ports. Hundreds of thousands of containers (giant metal "boxes") come into the U.S. without any sort of inspection. This would a prime way for dirty bombs, nukes, or other attacks. Right?
Factually, there is no reason to not let this happen. Dubai is an ally of the United States and has been even before 9-11. They are one of the few allies that we have. So why discriminate against them? Oh, because they wear funny clothes. And they must be terrorists because they come from the Middle East. That's essentially what the opponents (and this does include many Republicans as well) are saying. Really, it's just as likely that any American worker could be bribed or blackmailed to "look the other way" at some point. Raising the red flag on this purchase just smacks of racism.
The company, Dubai Ports World, is actually owned by the ruling family of Dubai. The purpose for the intended purchase is diversification. They see the writing on the wall and they don't want all of their assets wrapped up in oil. That to me says that they're not radical muslims, but rather smart businessmen. Hell, they're trying to put the world's largest amusement park in the Middle East.
But still, this all bothers me. There would be no change to the security protocols and ALL of their employees (on U.S. soil) would have to go through our screening processes. Part of it is that anytime we allow a foreign interest to invest in the U.S., I feel like we lose a bit of ourselves. There are many U.S. automotive, oil, and media companies that are owned by foreign interest. The isolationist in me comes out here and I cringe. Sure, we're "Made American" but the profits are often going overseas.
So who knows how this will all end? Is this a clever, 24 style plot where terrorists will eventually choke us out at our own ports or allow teddy bears stuffed with nuclear bombs to end up in our toy stores? Or is this a company that sees an opportunity to make money in a country that has the highest amount of imports in the world?
I'm so glad I'm not in the position to make this decision.
The current firestorm over the intended sales of 6 U.S. ports has certainly been an interesting show. Some of you assume I'm a "goosestepper" to the Bush administration, but that's really not the truth. Anytime the policy revolves around foreign interest in our country, I turn into an ultra-isolationist. This one though, has me scratching my head.
On one side, the Bush Administration wants to allow the sale of control of 6 U.S. ports to a company based in Dubai. This would be no different than any other company that has interests on U.S. soil. Despite the political posturing and misinformation campaign launched by Democrats such as Joseph Biden, security would still fall under the control of the U.S. and Homeland Security.
On the other hand, there's the seemingly irrational paranoia that turning control of a U.S. port over to a Middle Eastern interest means that we're setting ourselves up for security breaches and terrorist infiltration. In the last several years, much emphasis has been placed on the porous U.S. borders, especially at our ports. Hundreds of thousands of containers (giant metal "boxes") come into the U.S. without any sort of inspection. This would a prime way for dirty bombs, nukes, or other attacks. Right?
Factually, there is no reason to not let this happen. Dubai is an ally of the United States and has been even before 9-11. They are one of the few allies that we have. So why discriminate against them? Oh, because they wear funny clothes. And they must be terrorists because they come from the Middle East. That's essentially what the opponents (and this does include many Republicans as well) are saying. Really, it's just as likely that any American worker could be bribed or blackmailed to "look the other way" at some point. Raising the red flag on this purchase just smacks of racism.
The company, Dubai Ports World, is actually owned by the ruling family of Dubai. The purpose for the intended purchase is diversification. They see the writing on the wall and they don't want all of their assets wrapped up in oil. That to me says that they're not radical muslims, but rather smart businessmen. Hell, they're trying to put the world's largest amusement park in the Middle East.
But still, this all bothers me. There would be no change to the security protocols and ALL of their employees (on U.S. soil) would have to go through our screening processes. Part of it is that anytime we allow a foreign interest to invest in the U.S., I feel like we lose a bit of ourselves. There are many U.S. automotive, oil, and media companies that are owned by foreign interest. The isolationist in me comes out here and I cringe. Sure, we're "Made American" but the profits are often going overseas.
So who knows how this will all end? Is this a clever, 24 style plot where terrorists will eventually choke us out at our own ports or allow teddy bears stuffed with nuclear bombs to end up in our toy stores? Or is this a company that sees an opportunity to make money in a country that has the highest amount of imports in the world?
I'm so glad I'm not in the position to make this decision.
posted by Mkae at
1:44 PM
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