This is imPORTant!

The recent row over the UAE "taking over" 6 US ports has got to be the most absurd mountain to be recently made of a molehill!
Now, if it was a private company from Yeman I'd probably be right there with ya' on condemning it. But this is the UAE ferchrissake!
Most Bush-haters attack the President for being TOO vigorous in the War on Terror... now they think he doesn't give a damn about security????? Get real! 12 Government agencies approved the arrangement before it was even brought to the President's attention. Add to that the extended provisions, regulations, and restrictions written into THIS agreement that MOST countries don't have to abide-by, and you have a very secure arrangements (particularly the arrangement that all dock workers and employees have to be American citizens).
Now for a few things you may not have thought of......

• The UAE has 10% of the world's oil reserves and is NOT a member of OPEC. Hmmmmmm.
• When the US wanted to start putting customs agents, and inspectors in FOREIGN ports to inspect ships before they leave to come to America, the UAE was the FIRST to agree to the arrangement. Can you imagine Iran allowing us to inspect freight coming to America before it left Shaid Rajai? I seriously doubt it!
• We have painfully few Arab Allies in the Middle East right now... Kuwait and the UAE being the closest to us. Saudi and Jordan are suspect but allies nevertheless - and Iraq and Afghanistan are still finding their footing as atonomous states. So those who want to kill this deal have no specific reason to refuse the deal except bigotry against "towelheads" in general. And they are risking one of the FEW alliances we have in the region in doing so.
• Dubai Ports World is a multi-BILLION dollar company, and if ANYTHING should happen in a United States port under their control, the entire company would collapse. Now, I can understand that some lost individuals might give up what little life they have in a suicide attack, but noone is gunna' sacrifice a multibillion industry by allowing some radical to use their connections to further terrorism. In short, DPW has probably MORE incentive to make sure nothing goes wrong at their ports than anyone! They don't want their industry to go down the drain because of some stupid mistake or by something slipping into America through their berths!

Lastly, I must comment on the collection of numbskulls called Washington Republicans... they jumped on this subject as an opportunity to distance themselves from GW and his opinion poll ratings. When GW is proven right, they're gunna' look typically disloyal and awfully stupid!

DailyKos has an interesting take on this whole matter as well. ( I HONESTLY never thought I'd be linking to HIS blog...lol)