The Ports, The U.A.E, and the U.S. Government

A Dubai based, United Arab Emirates government owned company called Dubai Ports World is set to purchase the British firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. That British firm currently operates major commercial operations at six major U.S. ports, including Miami, Baltimore, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The Bush Administration has approved this action, even though it would give a MIddle Eastern country a controlling interest in some of our businest ports.

Add to that decision the known fact that U.S. Ports are one of our most vulnerable security areas, and you have a recipe for... drama in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Senators and Representatives from both sides of the aisle, as well as two govorners - Pataki from NY and Ehrlich from MD - are voicing concerns over this transaction.

Ehrlich, concerned about security at the Port of Baltimore, said Monday he was "very troubled" that Maryland officials got no advance notice before the Bush administration approved the Arab company's takeover of the operations at the six ports.

You should note that I have called this a recipe for drama. Not disaster, as some reports are making this out to be.

I'm confused as to what the issue is here, but my cynical side is pretty sure it's got the problem nailed down. Simply put, our government is apparently afraid of all folks from that part of the world. In news reports on NPR, as well as the AP newswire, the biggest concern listed is that two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the United Arab Emirates. Huh? What has that got to do with anything?

To that concern, I'd like to bar Mr. Pataki from having anything to do with his ports, because one of the Oklahoma City bombers (McVeigh) was from upstate New York. That's valid right? Right?

We live in a global economy. And frankly, I can't see how the resistance to this action is anything but a knee-jerk, fearful reaction. This is exactly the kind of behavior that breeds anti-Americanism and resentment around the world.