{"id":54,"date":"2006-02-24T12:21:11","date_gmt":"2006-02-24T19:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rynosoft.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/?p=54"},"modified":"2015-02-19T09:37:07","modified_gmt":"2015-02-19T16:37:07","slug":"the-problem-with-uae-ownership-of-us-ports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rynosoft.com\/blog\/2006\/02\/the-problem-with-uae-ownership-of-us-ports","title":{"rendered":"The Problem with UAE Ownership of U.S. Ports"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re like me, you might have wondered if the recent brouhaha over the Dubai ports deal<\/a> was thinly disguised xenophobia or politically motivated Democratic bloviating. I’m just as jaded as most liberals when it comes to the Bush administration’s rejection of criticism, but I’m also a realist when it comes to the other side criticizing the administration. That’s why I was pleased to find this from CNN’s Lou Dobbs:<\/p>\n

“President Bush has put forth a challenge tonight that I simply can’t ignore. The president yesterday said he wanted those who are critical and questioning of this port deal to “step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company.”<\/p>\n

Well, first of all, Mr. President, to equate any country to your principal partner in the coalition ignores that special relationship this country’s enjoyed with the United Kingdom for decades and decades. This also is not just a British company and an Arab company, as I think you well know.<\/p>\n

Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation is a British privately owned digital marketing agency<\/font><\/a> . Dubai Ports World is a UAE government controlled and owned company. You see the difference, of course.<\/p>\n

And furthermore, the money used to fund the 9\/11 attacks, most of it, in fact, was sent to the hijackers through the UAE banking system. In fact, two of the hijackers were originally from the UAE.<\/p>\n

The UAE stonewalled U.S. efforts to track al Qaeda bank accounts after 9\/11. In addition, the Emirates does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state. And the UAE was a transfer point for shipments of nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.<\/p>\n

And if those aren’t good enough reasons, I would just suggest I’m at a complete loss to offer what might be considered good reasons.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can see the full transcript here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And if those aren’t good enough reasons, I would just suggest I’m at a complete loss to offer what might be considered good reasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[755,754,1562,756],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-dubai","tag-lou-dobbs","tag-politics","tag-ports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t