Friday, March 10, 2006

Good Riddance Dubai Ports

So, Dubai Ports World decided that it was time to cut its losses and back out of the controversial deal that would have given it control of six American ports and I say that it is good riddance and time for President Bush to get back to the serious issues of the War Against Terror.
I feel that President Bush has wasted the "political capital" that he won in the 2004 election by defending a bureaucratic blunder that put his standing as the bulwark against Islamic Jihadist in serious question.
I actually do not disagree with one aspect that the president was saying in fact that there is a kneejerk anti-Arab sentiment in the opposition to the complex deal.
The reality is that nothing would essentially change in the way that the ports in question would have been managed. But the sheer fact that the company that would own the port management would be not just an Arab company, but an arm of the government of the United Arab Emirates sent shivers up and down the spines of rational Americans.
The president was basically kept in the dark as to how the deal was to proceed and when backed into a corner, he became defensive and could not rationally defend the deal.
Seeing no support, Dubai Ports World backed down and saved the president needless embarrassment in threating a veto, the first of his presidency, over a pointless deal that met its untimely demise.
Now that this is past Mr. Bush, it is time to focus on how to deal with Iran, which will be the next country in the Axis of Evil that will have to be dealt with. This is where the serious warriors against terror will now have to put the rubber to the road and take the next step in the inevitable confrontation.

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