Dubious Dubai Deal -- Robert Scheer

[scarletwoman]

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0301-23.htm

Do you buy Dubai? That's this season's big hit, a zany farce with pompous officials in the Bush administration and their hysterical courtiers in the mass media asserting positions that are patently absurd, but hilarious to watch. Audiences are eating it up.

<snip>

Now, maybe this port deal is not really that big a threat to U.S. security, but then neither was Hussein. That didn't stop Bush from ripping up Iraq and turning it into a showcase for religious fratricide. So he makes mistakes, but he's our president and we are in a WAR, a War on Terror. Terror, terror, TERROR, all the time.

But now, we're getting mixed messages. First, the president told us that in a war on terror you trust your own government to provide homeland security. You put your faith in the stern, electronic wand-waving Americans in white shirts and TSA epaulettes who check your shoes at the airport; those upstanding Americans who report to other upstanding Americans, such as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and people he trusts. Now they tell us it's OK to have some Arab as the guy in charge of checking our shoes -- excuse me, ports?

<snip>

Just when things looked like they were quieting down, Sen. Susan Collins, R- Maine, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, had to go and mess it up for the president by releasing details of a very embarrassing Coast Guard warning that the White House had ignored. "There are many intelligence gaps, concerning the potential for {Dubai Ports World} ... assets to support terrorist operations, that preclude an overall threat assessment of the potential merger," stated the Coast Guard document.

[Jayhawk Lib]

1. Bush screwed up and is still screwing up.

It was muslims and Arabs that flew the planes into the WTC. Bush should have seen that and booted them out of the country before it happened. He had 9 months to do it and he did nothing.

Now there are still muslims and Arabs in the country and he wants one of their home countries to run our ports. Instead of ridding the country of these terrorists he wants to have them run our ports.

In the words of John Stossel "GIVE ME A BREAK!!"

[scarletwoman]

2. John Stossel is an asshole. I think you're missing Scheer's point.

If you think this is about anti-Muslim/Arab bigotry, you are sadly misreading this piece.

I hope you just forgot to use the :sarcasm: tag, and are not advocating the concept of collective guilt --which is certainly NOT Robert Scheer's point.

sw

[Jayhawk Lib]

5. This is about Bush screwing up.

He needs to be on top of these obvious suspects and protect us.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. I'm sure you'll be happy to name the terrorists in the USA

since you know who they are. You wouldn't be tarring all "muslims and Arabs" with the same brush, would you?

And the correct thing to do with people plotting terrorism is arrest them and try them in a court, not boot them out of the country so they can do damage elsewhere.

[Jayhawk Lib]

4. It was muslim and Arabs that were in this country

took down the WTC. Bush should get the message that they are all suspects. Instead he wants them to run our ports. How absurd!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Now that is bigotted

(and even if you are doing this as some sort of sarcasm, there comes a point where you have to admit it). We don't want stupid, racist, prejudiced crap like that on DU.

[Jayhawk Lib]

8. Did I make a false statement????

Most people think that the UAE should not be allowed to run some of our ports because 2 Arab Muslims from the UAE were involved on the planes that took down the wtc. I agree that it is bigoted but it is true.

[Jayhawk Lib]

6. I do not know....

That is Bushes job. He is supposed to know the suspects and boot them out of the country. There is no excuse for him not to. And now he wants this same group to run our ports. This is absurd!!!!