Opposing the Ports Deal In the Hopes of Ending the Spiral of Mistrust.

This post is the culmination of the ideas and discussions prompted by the Bush administration’s latest questionable move to allow the transfer of mainland U.S. port operations to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates. What is written here was inspired by the members of the WesPac Community and penned by The Blue State Bandit.

We must, as adherents to the true spirit in which our Founding Fathers formed this country, publicly emphasize that our opposition to this deal is NOT predicated on the notion that we just don't like Arabs or Muslims as the emissaries of President Bush and his family’s business associates have portrayed us Democrats.

Though it is true that many Americans, largely but not exclusively Republicans, and the under informed are reacting out of a fear that their security is being placed in the hands of the Arab government in question, this is due to the actions and rhetoric of the Bush administration's fear mongering policies and the manner in which their neighbors, friends, and family members have lost their lives in recent years. Even those who are well informed on the inner workings of such subjects, like the ports deal between our country and the United Arab Emirates, must make their decisions in the dark due to the deceptive and secretive nature in which the Bush administration conducts business. We fully understand that Muslims have endured similar tragedies and hold the same fears and anguish as well. Many of them live under the rule of leaders that operate in the same manor. And of those leaders, many have, and continue to conduct such business with the Bush administration.

But the base of the Democratic Party views this deal in a different way. We don't see this war as simply one between the West and the Muslim World , or good and evil. We strive to gain a more comprehensive view of the world, ever searching for the truth behind the "official story" and though separately, we may never be able to attain the ultimate truths behind the tales we have been told, together, we have gained a better understanding of the true story behind the obfuscation. And what we have learned has convinced us that this deal would be bad for both America, and the Muslim world.

America has been slowly learning not to trust some of those in our government since Bush took office 5 years ago. Though it may at times be difficult to see the forest thru the trees, many Americans, from all walks of life, have been working to put an end to the actions that have brought us to this precarious moment in history. It is time that the Muslim World be given the opportunity to remove their blinders as well and take a good look at those within their own governments. They must take this opportunity to weed out those beyond hubris who jeopardize their livelihoods. Though this may not be an easy sell, we must at least make an honest effort to try. And if we fail in this effort, we can at least find solace in the fact that we did make an HONEST effort.

For decades, members of today’s Bush administration and their facilitators have been acting without the authority of the people they swore to serve. Likewise, many leaders of the Muslim World have followed suit and joined with these people. And in the process, have pitted our two worlds against each other for their own personal gains. Be it the Bushes and the bin Ladens, Rumsfeld and Saddam, Zarqawi and Wolfowitz, or Arafat and Sharon, their personal battles and dealings for wealth and power have drawn our two worlds into a perpetual spiral of mistrust and violence that may take generations to quell. But the sooner we all figure this out, the sooner we can take steps to rid ourselves of the plagues we find on our common home. This small planet on which we live.

There are many prosperous financial dealings between companies from United States and the United Arab Emirates that do not involve the kind of risks presented in this Port Operations deal. We are not advocating that we should sever such innocuous business deals or our current ties to the UAE. It is just that this deal in which, if an attack eventually occurred, whether or not initiated by officials of the UAE, the fallout would be unimaginable. In our view, this deal poses both a national security risk, and an international security risk. And with the cozy, and laxed relationship between the Emiraties and the Bushes, the unacceptably high probability of just one person looking the other way as a political favor, or for profit, is just a risk we are compelled not to take.


So, in the interest of breaking the ties between those who would threaten the safety and future of both our citizens and those of the Muslim World, and to set the stage for us to pull ourselves all from this downward spiral of despair, we must, in the most strongest of terms, oppose this deal. For our security, as well as the security of our neighbors, the Muslim World, and the future, we hope that the Emirate of Dubai will understand.

Sound judgment can provide for our security just as well as military prowess.

Securing America
Pleonexia: Beyond Hubris

Tags: Ports UAE Dubai Politics Security Policy