Do you care who controls your ports? That is the issue at hand now, as a firestorm has erupted over a deal that allowed a company run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to control six major ports along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.
Dubai Ports World, a state-owned corporation based in the UAE, recently purchased the British firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation - a company that had controlled ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans.
Although the Dubai firm is well-respected and has passed all necessary regulatory approvals, both Republican and Democratic Congressmen and government officials have denounced the deal as a blatant breach of national security. Strangely, it seems that the only officials in support of the deal, which will take effect Mar. 2, are President Bush and his administration.
The criticism hinges on the fact that Dubai Ports World is owned by the UAE, an Arab state home to two of the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers and a point of money transfer for other hijackers involved in the attacks.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, ordinarily a staunch supporter of President Bush, has stated that he will not only begin a thorough investigation of the port contract, but also that he plans to propose legislation to impede the takeover.
One would imagine that at the mere mention of the words "national security" and "threat to," the normally hawkish and anti-Arab President Bush would be the head cheerleader in the effort to send those nasty Emiratis packing.
But Bush has pulled a complete 180 in this case, defending the takeover and threatening to veto any legislation designed to block the port contract. Bush may be wrong about many things, but in this case, he sadly happens to be the voice of reason.
In a time when American friends in the Middle East are few and far between, the U.S. can ill-afford to anger one of its main allies in the war on terror. Blocking the Dubai contract would be a case of racial profiling at the highest level, and would reaffirm to the rest of the world how intolerant the U.S. has become.
Those who oppose the deal have no real reason to believe that the Dubai firm is a threat to national security. After all, Dubai Ports World would merely control port operations, not port security - which would still be controlled by the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition, it is not as if the foreign control of a U.S. port is a new development. The company that controlled the eastern ports before the Dubai firm was British; China runs several major ports in the U.S.; and Singapore operates ports from LA to Seattle. In fact, according to the New York Times, nearly 30 percent of the port terminals in the U.S. are operated by foreign-based companies.
If one takes into account the global shipping market, which is dominated by foreign corporations, it becomes clear how irrational Congressional opposition of the Dubai contact really is.
The whole mess has much less to do with a concern for the safety of the American people than it does with the need of certain politicians to have an issue they can spearhead.
Frist, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, is trying to distance himself from President Bush and gain media attention. Democrats like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, herself rumored to be a presidential candidate, are merely finding another way to stick it to Bush.
In today's global market, it is unreasonable to expect everything to be American-made and American-owned. Dubai Ports World is like any other company: It wants to get the job done and make money. The fact that it is based in a country whose name contains the word 'Arab' should have nothing to do with its ability to operate a port.
The fact that Congressmen cannot understand this shows how far the war on terror has taken the U.S. - and how xenophobic our government has become.
