Why is Bush so concerned about the Ports Deal? We never saw him this upset

[electron_blue]

about oh, for example, what Katrina did to the country.

Why is the Dubai deal so important to him? He's warning us about repurcussions to America, about how horrible things could get if we don't do this. He makes it sound worse than 9/11 or any one of half a dozen natural disasters we've been through in the last 5 years.

I can guess, but does anyone here know?

Is the U.S. really going to go into a toilet of deep depression if the UAE doesn't get to keep the ports?

[Coastie for Truth]

1. Big Bucks

for Daddy (Carlyle), Surrogate Daddy (Halliburton), Uncle John (John Snow - CSX deal with P&O)

[MrSlayer]

2. Because he needs to place his warships in their ports.

The UAE is to be the launching spot for the Iran war. If we deny them the ports here, they will not let us use their ports for our military and Chimp can't have that.

[electron_blue]

4. How much $ do they (UAE) make with these ports?

Is this their main source of income? Why do they care so much? Did they lose face, or money here?

[silverweb]

6. Bingo!

Geopolitics and the Strait of Hormuz!

[mdmc]

3. the port deal was the biggest blow to free trade since 9-11

and since it doesn't have a huge upside for the BFEE (unlike 9-11, which was a PNAC wet dream), it is a total loss.

[adriennui]

5. maybe they've really threatened

their buttboy....sort of like the mafia.

[mdmc]

14. as far as uae ports go, we will always have full access to them

if the UAE said "no" to Bush, then they would be fully in the "against us" camp.

[gtar100]

7. Strait of Hormuz

Dubai Ports Deal More Sinister

Dubai and the Strait of Hormuz

[electron_blue]

8. Great links, but....

this explains why Bush wants *their* ports. This doesn't explain why they want ours. Our ports could only be important to them for 2 reasons that I can think of:

1) the money they make from the ports
2) they want the ports so they can bomb/attack somebody of their choosing

If it's the money, why doesn't Bush just find another (perhaps shady,illegal) way to give them their money. He could probably arrange to do it so the MSM doesn't pick up the scent. This is obviously a hugely hot potato for the American public, Bush should drop it and find another way to keep the UAE happy (if we believe the money angle).

Bush is not doing this. He's insisting on giving the UAE the ports. So.... are they going to attack someone? Us? Who?

Am I way off base here? (I really hope I am)

eta: those links convince me we're weeks away from war with Iran, sob.

[TomInTib]

9. Because it's not the only Dubai Port Deal...

check this out:

The Dubai Port Deal You Don't Know About

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1171773,00.html

[peacetalksforall]

10. Could it ba timing issue or a promise issue?

Will the PNAC planned bombing of Iran have to be postponed?

or

Did he personally assure the UAE jefes that there wouldn't be any problem with the deal and that we wouldn't even notice?

or

Did the UAE tell him this better go off or else you're out of the ME?

[Catchawave]

11. Personally....

What I don't understand is why our government (with or without Bush's knowledge) would allow the people we've been told to fear since 9-11 to take charge of our most sensitive ports of entry, then call me a racist when I go a little nuts over this "plan".

So, to answer your question, Halliburton ? Just a hunch :silly:

[WePurrsevere]

12. Perhaps it's a case of "protest too much"... he tends to get weird when

he's up to something so... perhaps this too is a part of a plan. :shrug:

[Mark E. Smith]

13. UAE Has Pictures Shrub Doesn't Want Seen

Georgie's scared to death that they're now pissed off enough to release the very compromising photographs he knows they have.

He's trying to prove he can still be valuable to them.

[leftofthedial]

15. he is a paid agent of the Arab oil dictators.