It did seem as if this whole controversy evanesced rather too quickly and easily. From AP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
WASHINGTON - The Dubai-owned company that promised to surrender its U.S. port operations has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary's interests at Miami's seaport, a senior executive wrote yesterday in a private e-mail to business associates.Even if DP World were to sell its Miami operations to quell the congressional furor over an Arab-owned company managing major U.S. ports, "that would probably take a while," wrote Robert Scavone, a vice president for DP World's U.S. subsidiary.
The e-mail, obtained by the Associated Press, added to questions raised since DP World's announcement last week that it will divest U.S. port operations that it acquired when it bought London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
"It did seem as if this whole controversy evanesced rather too quickly and easily"
WHY would this surprise you?
Isn't it illegal for Amercian companies to run things like this in Amercia -- unless of course they are associated with Big Bec or at least a shadow company for a non-American firm ????
Whatever I might think of the UAE and Islam, the facta are that had the UAE company been allowed to win its bid, the security of the ports in question would still be in the hands of the US federal government, things coming in would still be scrutinized by US Customs, and nobody would be allowed to brought over to work without the OK of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This matter was NOT the surrender of US sovereignty, nor was it Dhimmitude. It was business, and then became politics.
Kepha, it was not just business..it was just stupid. Once in a while the right thing does win out. Keeping the UAE out was a right thing.
Ports deal was a bad idea last week. It's still a bad idea, today. The enemy gets no seat at our table.
Another problem: Pres. Bush supports the deal ... therefore, it needs to be re-examined.
Kepha,
it's rather naive to think, I'm afraid, that things would work so smoothly. If the White House is already willing to overlook the terrorist links of the Dubai royal family, then they might overlook any future abuse by them. And then about appointments and hiring. If Dubai has the contract, can you tell them whom they can assign to work in any particular US port?? If you don't know how a port works, and a port is already a very large, complex mechanism that is hard to supervise and control in any case, then really you should hold back your opinion. There are many potential holes in security as it is. The American people don't need sophisticated, inimical persons inside the port system who would be capable of identifying soft spots in security.
Folks:
Have a look at who is on the other side of the Straits of Hormuz. Maybe that has something with Bush's reticence to ditch the Dubai deal. Maybe not, though.
"Whatever I might think of the UAE and Islam, the facta are that had the UAE company been allowed to win its bid, the security of the ports in question would still be in the hands of the US federal government, things coming in would still be scrutinized by US Customs, and nobody would be allowed to brought over to work without the OK of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This matter was NOT the surrender of US sovereignty, nor was it Dhimmitude. It was business, and then became politics."
Only business? Oooooohhh, well then, that makes everything okay. Heck, I wonder how much we could get if we auctioned off Livermoore and Sandia Labs to Bin Laden! Hey, why not start a bidding war between HAMAS and AL Q!
After all -- it's only business, right?
C'mon don't give me that look! Once, those guys see that they can become players -- we'll win their hearts and minds :>
Whats-a-matter -- you some kind of polyphobe? It is NOT surrender as you pointed out-- just busine$$.
Ports deal was a bad idea last week. It's still a bad idea, today. The enemy gets no seat at our table.
Another problem: Pres. Bush supports the deal ... therefore, it needs to be re-examined.
Posted by: Havoc at March 14, 2006 12:45 PM
___
Agree.
I hate to agree with the Dems, but a law is needed to protect America from foreign ownership and the corporate profiteers and their backers in the Federal Bureaucracy.
The Texican.
Freedom, the only choice at any cost.
Well, witness, I guess we should stop buying oil from Islamic nations because some of that oil money is used to fund terrorists. And how about our military alliancess with Islamic nations? Could we have been successful in the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq without Islamic nation support?
"And how about our military alliancess with Islamic nations? Could we have been successful in the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq without Islamic nation support?"
You're right --
It's impossible! Let's turn over military our to Bin Laden -- he'll know what to do! Why, he could be our most valuable ally against terror!
We just have the wrong attitude, that's all!
As for the oil -- we should make sure that we increase our need and trade ONLY with islamic countries that have sharia laws.
It's only fair isn't it? We don't want them to think we're phobic or something.
Say, how much do you think we could get if we leased out the White House? Saves taxpayers money and can help toward our growing deficet.
Just trying to be helpful -- that's all.
It's impossible! Let's turn over our military to Bin Laden -- he'll know what to do! Why, he could be our most valuable ally against terror!
speed typing just isn't my thing -- sorry.
Kepha is right
DP world would have and will be only running container terminals, not “ports”, or port security.
APM Terminals, headquarters in Denmark, currently operates terminals in the following American ports
Baltimore, Charleston, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Oakland, New Jersey, Washington.
And these ME countries Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Oman.
Could it be possible that this existing company has its ME workforce infiltrated by people sympathetic to Moslem terrorists, and they start shipping containers full of Islamic terrorists and or bombs, from Pakistan to America through New Orleans or Jordan to America through Los Angeles?
The Port of Los Angeles handed 7 million containers last year, how could the Coast Guard or US Customs or the Port police or Home Land security possibly find a few dozen full of weapons or people.
Keeping the Port of Miami... I guess all they'd need is one to wreak havoc; it'll also still be a sizeable amount of commercial jizyah flowing to the UAE government.
I hope no one, in or out of government, who fought the original deal accepts this "compromise."
Heck, let's have a fire sale -- ca$h is all that matters.
witness, your ridicule and sarcasm is not an answer to my questions. Guess you don't have one.
patriot2, Kuwait and UEA were our main staging areas for Iraq. Turkey denied us that privilege as did Saudi Arabia which was our staging point for the first Gulf war. You said we could have gone in without the aid of those countries. Care to explain?
The UK government has lost "between 155,000 and 283,500" people who have failed "asylum" applications and are therefore due to be removed from its territory.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article351239.ece
Here is a good editorial cartoon on the subject....sad, I voted for the Prez twice. I am sooo disappointed.
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/15000/
Well, much as I think Muhammad was no better than the giddy Quaker lasses of the 17th century who strode nude into other people's churches shouting "Woe, woe, woe!" (and even worse for his violence), I can't help noting that our efforts to unseat the Taliban would not have worked without a lot of Afghani Muslim support on the ground; that would-be subway bombers of the 1990's got fingered by a fellow Arab Muslim immigrant; and that the Lackawanna Six were fingered by fellow Muslim immigrants as well. There are Muslims and Muslims, and while it is certainly right to get tough on the real bad actors, it is foolish to alienate a billion-plus people.
witness, your ridicule and sarcasm is not an answer to my questions. Guess you don't have one.
I have plenty of answers -- but I can assure you that you won't like any of them.
More retalation is being stated by the UAE. Thay are saying they will convert from US dollars to the euro, stop our priority at their home ports, anong other things.
Sounds like the tit for tat we get at the UN, or from Iran.
True allies may be disapointed, this is starting to display somthing other, like somthing was up and it got halted.
No deal of ports to the UAE.
some more info on the global shipping industry:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/24/business/usports.php
I find it ironic, wait, that's not quite the right word -- let's go with typical, that certain central banks are threatening to convert 1/10th of their dollar reserves to Euros in reaction to the "discrimination" (their word) the U.S. showed by bucking the ports deal.
In other M.E. financial news reports today, covering the crashing/correcting M.E. stock exchanges, are the little blurbs about how some markets are reserved soley for residents and others allow foreign participation but establish a cap for foreign investment.
Does anyone else see the disconnect here?
They "protect" their markets from investment.
We are not allowed to protect our ports without being accused of discrimination.
Double speak and misdirection.
Over and over and over again.
"...foolish to alienate a billion-plus people..."
Stop spouting Mohammedan propaganda, Kepha!
We should worry about the Mohammedans who have managed to slip into our countries and who believe they 'are here to stay' and that nothing can remove them.
Internment and mass-deportations, the only answer!
(And let them take care of their 'billions', we don't need to worry about that...)
Let's call the bluff. Remove our fighter jets and bombers, take our warships out of there ports around the Strait of Hormuz sail it all towards home and see how far we get before
1) Iran and Syria attack the rest of the arab peninsula.
2) All these Emirs and Princes go absolutely Apeshit with panic and beg us to take their oil in return for protecting their asses from Iran,Syria,N.Korea,China......
Never happen though the Islamofascist are right, our government is weak.
Jehana - It is not just the harbours industry. I worked in a specialist shipping magazine for a while, and found out that American and British shipbuilding, once the envy of the world, is virtually dead. The same goes for shipping proper. Dockyards in the two countries only ever produce naval ships for the armed forces; they are incapable of producing civilian ships competitively. And that is not because the shipping and shipbuilding industries, as such, are dead in advanced countries: Poland, Italy, Greece, France and South Korea are all major players in the business. It is specifically the English-speaking countries that have suffered a major failure in all aspects of marine trade and traffic, for which one can only guess the reasons.
I remember Bush's speech after 9/11 and in it he said, people will do anything for money...I do believe this needs to be investigated even further with money going into some politicians hands...Is Dubai buying off our President? If not him, then who?