21 Ports? C'mon!

Good morning,

Aww, the hand holding amongst the bluebonnet flowers and trees. Oh, forget it, what da heck is this all about? Ok, I know, I know, the title of this entry is "21 Ports", the number of U.S. ports which could be sold off to control by Dubai, I know the guy holding hands with our president is a Saudi king and not from Dubai. I also know it's quite possibly customary for foreign leaders to hold hands with the king (one would hope or what would Laura say?), but as the president of this country it sends the wrong message to do so at a time when gasoline and fuel prices were going through the roof. Somethin' smells, and it ain't the sweaty palms in the picture. (well, maybe that too, but that's another story entirely)

Now back to the issue at hand, and how this picture seems to factor into the whole thing. It seems to be indicative of the "go this way, no, go that way, no, go this way again", way that the American people have been treated by this administration. "Ahm lookin' ta prutect yer securitah", was what Bush said in his part time Texas accent, that comes and goes depending on who he is addressing, during his bid for re-election. He recently said, "The 'mercan people dawn't need to wurreh baut securitah", when it comes to a Middle Eastern company gaining control over 21 of this nation's shipping ports? Huh? Whaa? Errr.... Umm.... but you said..... then you said.... but... security? safety? not safe? safe? terror? no terror? trust? don't trust? Ok, enough of that.... please pardon me for a moment while my head explodes. *LOL* That is the way that the official message seems to most people out there, like a dog on a leash we only get so far back into our normal routine before they snap us back into step, and I don't like it!

Before I continue my rant, let me get this out in the open first... I have nothing against the vast majority of people from Dubai, nor Saudi Arabia, neither do I have anything against Muslims, nor Arabs overall. On my street is a family of the muslim religion, they wear the traditional attire of their faith, and are some of the finest and nicest people I have ever met. I admit to not ever having known anyone of the muslim faith prior, but just meeting them shows that those who would hate an entire people for the actions of a few are short sighted and wrong in their beliefs.

Now, that being said, my belief that it is wrong to sell off control to 21 of our nation's ports to a Dubai company is based upon economics and the president's own doctrine of security. I believe that no single company should have control over that many of our nation's busiest ports, such power over shipping traffic to these United States would yield a system of either excess or waste, or both. Muchless the influence such a holding would have upon the very economy of our nation. Since the time of 911, people have called for stricter guidelines and security at our nation's ports, it has been said that little has been done, and many wondered why. Could it be that such a move would have made a takeover bid far more expensive to a company who might want to take control? Quite possibly yes, but how is that the "securitah" we were promised? Would I be complaining if it were a single American company? Yes, I would. Would I be complaining if it were a European company and not Dubai? Yes, I would, but is it prudent to give control of our ports to a Middle Eastern country at a time when our foreign policy is aimed directly at the region? No, I think not. As time goes on, stability within the region could shift and where would that leave us? Imagine the impact of 21 ports shutting down or running at a reduced capacity. Also, how would such a move actually effect our foreign policy? Those who say it won't don't consider that a company, a state run company at that, with control of 21 ports in our country will gain a rather strong foothold within our halls of government, is that a good thing? I'll leave it to all of you to decide the answer to that one.

The issue isn't about prejudice, the true issue is about security in stability, though Dubai is a very wealthy emirate within the UAE, consider when Beirut was once considered to be "the Paris of the Middle East", a beautiful flourishing city. What is it now? It ain't Paris, that's for sure. Now isn't the time for "we'll worry about it when it happens" politics or decision making, is it? At least that's the platform the president ran with, and he wouldn't "flip-flop" on an issue that got him back into office would he?

If you happened to notice the number of times I said "21 ports", it wasn't entirely intentional. I guess it had to do with the first news I heard about the deal involving 6 major ports (including the Port of New York), being done so secretly while the nation was talking about Cheney's bad hunting etiquette. When I heard the actual number was 21 ports, I almost fell out of my chair.