After 5 years, Bush finally delivers on uniter, not divider promise…
It seems the President’s lax stance on our ports being patrolled by a country who’s banking system transferred money to 9/11 hijackers and then refused to cooperate in tracking down Osama’s banking records has finally brought people of all political backgrounds together. New York Gov. George Pataki, New Jersey Gov. John Corzine, Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Rep. Vito Fossella, Senators Chuck Schumer, Robert Menendez and Hillary Clinton have all sounded calls against this ridiculous situation.
Fearing that their leader is taking security, their lone publicity weapon, away from them in what could be wonderful (for Democrats) midterm elections, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert have stepped up, with Frist saying “The decision to finalize this deal should be put on hold until the Administration conducts a more extensive review of this matter. It is important for Congress be involved in this process. I have requested a detailed briefing on this deal. If the Administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review.”
Bush’s response to the top two Republicans in Congress telling him to slow down and do this right? Same as his response to a court that denied roughly four requests for warrants in 26 years of operation. His response to anyone in the country that criticizes him: I’m doing it anyway.
Or he’ll try… but will his own party lead a veto override charge?
I consider this proof that Michael Moore was right about this. The Saudis OWN Bush.
On the other hand, the “How Things Work” blog over at Salon.com has made a compelling counter-argument that the hysteria over this is racist bullshit.
Sorry. It’s “How the World Works,” not “How Things Work.” And the link is a bit tough to find, so here are choice quotes.
“Contrary to what politicians are saying, the United Arab Emirates company will not “own” or be running security at the ports. Nearly all American ports are already operated by foreign companies, Dubai Ports World has a sterling reputation around the world, and it just happens to be run by a senior staff that includes a bunch of, guess what, Americans.”
“First, George W. Bush is not “scheming” to outsource anything. Operation of these ports was already in foreign hands, and the purchase of a British company by a United Arab Emirates company is hardly a result of malign White House maneuvers. Meanwhile, as Time magazine notes, the International Longshoremen’s Association workers who currently offload ships at the U.S. ports will continue to do so, regardless of who has the contracts to run the ports.”
Wow, Sam. Kind of like how anti-Zionists complain that they can’t say anything hateful without being called anti-Semites. I guess there’s nothing wrong when Jews are involved.
There is a legitimate cause for concern here. I don’t care if UAE is Arab or not. That country has not proven to be the best one to work with in the war on terror. Plus, don’t you think that it is a little suspicious that Bush chose that country of all places when he is accused of having some interests in oil rich countries in the Middle East?
Oh, but that’s racist to say. I’ll watch what I say next time when talking about the world experts on anti-terrorism security from the UAE.