Do you remember right after 9/11 when our government was making an assessment of security weaknesses in the country and one really big concern was security at our ports? So you probably figured your government was working hard to fix this deadly problem.
Well, the Bush administration is proposing the perfect solution!
We are going to sell for $6.8 billion the control over operations at six major American ports to a company in the United Arab Emirates!
The company, Dubai Ports World, would run significant commercial operations at shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
Just to review the record of the United Arab Emirates, it was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya for Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. It was one of only three countries to recognize the now-toppled Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government. It is also alleged that United Arab Emirates was an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks of 9/11.
And, yes, they will hire their own security personnel.
Has our administration gone mad?
But, rest easy. We have been assured by Stewart Baker, an assistant secretary in the Homeland Security Department (aggghhhhhhh) that they have looked at this transaction closely and have concluded the transaction should not be halted.
Oh that makes me feel better!
Write, call, email your Senators. We must stop this unbelievable lunacy.
1 comment:
Why would an assistant secretary of Homeland Security say that turning over operation of six major U.S. ports to a company in the United Arab Emirates should not be halted? Remember, we have become accustomed to lack of candor.
PROBABLE ANSWER:
What two subjects makes the Bush administration's heart beat harder and faster than any others? Of course, they are, (1)lots of oil. The UAE is rich in oil and natural gas reserves, and (2)the prospect of making "justified" pre-emptive attacks against "rogue" nations. The UAE has been in a long continuing dispute with Iran over ownership of three islands in the region.
It's a simple matter of the Bush administration's economic greed and power grabbing mentality. How could we not defend our ally, the UAE, by planning for a pre-emptive attack against Iran, a perceived "imminent threat to our interests"? Sound familiar?
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