Wednesday - February 22, 2006

Port Of Call

I’m sorry, Dubya but I’m gonna have to call your hand on this one. Back off, man! Step away from the veto and keep your hands in plain sight. I’m sure your cabinet members vetted this thing thoroughly and the Coast Guard is satisfied with their inspections of the UAE facilities but .... as we say back home in Alabama, “THAT DAWG WON’T HUNT!” - Got that? I’m sorry but the American people just will not stand for it. This is one you need to walk away from real quietly or else you’ll get bit. You can almost hear the rattles in the underbrush, can’t you?

Trust me. It ain’t got a damned thing to do with “Islamophobia”. It’s all about we just ain’t gonna put up with the foxes guarding the henhouse, so to speak. Now, the UAE guys may say they’re not radical all day long but when you get right down to it, they’re still foxes ... erh, uh ... Muslims. Who’s to say that some honest goober with a towel on his head working at New York harbor hasn’t got a family somewhere back home in Dubai who is easy leverage to get him (no matter how “un-foxey” he is) to do a dirty deed ... done dirt cheap.

Nuh-uh, babe. Cut your losses, Dubya. Bow out gracefully. I’m looking out fer you on this one. If you veto any legislation that attempts to block this deal I’m afraid your approval rating will no longer be expressed in positive integers. More like multiples of i ... if you know what I mean ...

Arabs See Islamophobia Behind US Uproar Over Ports Deal
Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:11 PM ET

DUBAI (Reuters)

U.S. lawmakers’ strident opposition to a Dubai company controlling major seaports reflects a Western phobia of Arabs which could scare off other Middle East investors, Arab analysts said. Several congressmen have vowed to block the sale of British port operator P&O to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, a staunch U.S. Gulf ally, citing security concerns even though the deal was approved by the Bush administration.

Mustafa Alani, security expert at the UAE’s Gulf Research Center, said the furor over the impending sale was driven by politicians trying to thwart the U.S. government’s drive to mend ties with Arab states. “This is Arab phobia and it is clearly politically motivated,” he told Reuters. He said opponents of the deal “are reopening 9/11 wounds, turning this into an Arab-Muslim conspiracy to control the lives of Americans.”

“They want public opinion to sabotage improved relations, but they picked the wrong country,” Alani added. U.S.-Arab relations had been strained by the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities by 19 Arabs from al Qaeda, including UAE citizens. Washington’s support for Israel, considered an enemy by many Arabs, and its war on Iraq have also inflamed tensions.

Analysts also said the uproar could scare off other Gulf Arab states, all U.S. allies and flush with petrodollars, from seeking similar high-profile investments. “Other Gulf Arabs are watching this closely… this could definitely scare money away. Any investor is going to think a thousand times before doing so,” a Gulf-based analyst said.

Analysts said opposition to the deal stemmed from bias, since the Dubai firm would not oversee security. “Islamophobia is rising and has become like an infectious disease that spreads… in the West,” wrote columnist Rashid Saleh al-Oraimy in the UAE daily Gulf News this week. “The issue of acquiring the British company that operates U.S. ports is a mere business matter and it has nothing to do with politics,” he added.

Oraimy said U.S. security services failed to prevent the September 11 attacks “so no country should be blamed or held responsible for the acts of terrorists”. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a major trading and business hub in the wealthy Gulf region. It has so far been spared from attacks by Islamist militants who have struck Western interests in other Arab countries.

UAE officials have refused to wade into the political aspects of the deal, preferring to highlight their country’s support for the U.S. war on terrorism. “President (George W.) Bush has set the record straight (about) the existing cooperation between the United States and the United Arab Emirates,” a UAE government source said.

“Recently, the UAE and United States have concluded two joint task forces, one dealing with non-proliferation and the second with combating terror financing,” he added. Bush vowed on Tuesday to veto any attempt to block the $6.8 billion takeover, saying scuppering it “sends a terrible signal to friends around the world”. U.S. warships regularly dock at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, which is also managed by DP World, and the emirate became the first Middle Eastern port city in 2004 to sign a U.S. pact aimed at deterring the use of shipping containers for terrorism.

The UAE provides logistical support for some U.S. military operations in the region, including Afghanistan. The Gulf Arab state, an OPEC oil producer, is negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/22/2006 at 04:29 PM   
Filed Under: • Politics • RoPMA •  
• Comments (27) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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