Bye Bye, Miss American Dubai

I respectfully disagree with President Bush on the Dubai port deal. So, I am glad at least one of us is being respectful. I know that the President, Rush, the WSJ, and many individuals and institutions I respect a great deal, are arguing in defense of the UAE. What really bothers me, is that the debate is being framed in an ad hominem fashion, by calling conservative individuals, who reject the deal, as racists. This weak and frankly disappointing slander is what is absurd and insulting. I deploy a Rush strategy here. I reject the premise.

I certainly remember 911

With regards to the president's nephew, and his comments, he is just like any other young college punk, still green between the ears.

Roosevelt ordered the internment of American Japanese for a reason. There were naturalized American citizens, who emigrated back to Japan, and repatriated, when the WWII broke out. There was genuine concern that U.S. security was at risk. Whether you agree with it or not, even the Supreme court upheld the practice, in Korematsu vs. The United States, as a right of the executive granted by the conditions of a wartime emergency. I am not going to speculate on whether we went too far in this circumstance, but national security war powers carry great weight.

So, we are not at war with Dubai. It's not the same, is it?

This is true. It is not same. It is actually worse. The terror war's combatants are religious fanatics. They have no national pride. They do not respect Geneva. They do not respect borders. They use our own media and economic trade fluidity against us. They are every bit as dangerous as the suicidal kamikaze, willing to exploit any venue, including corporate international trade infrastructure and bureaucracy.

This is not a racist argument. It is profiling an enemy, which matches a known profile.

This Open Door was used Before

How many of the fifteen hijackers used our open door, fast track entry policy, from Saudi Arabia, to gain access to U.S. soil and attack us on 9/11? I don't even need to answer this question.

Government bureaucrats and international trade partners argued that Saudi Arabia was a great friend and ally in the Mideast. They were our close trading partners. That may be true, at the high level of international diplomacy. It did not stop that fateful infiltration, that resulted in the fall of those towers, thousands dead and trillions spent in retribution.

We are now being given the very same line of reasoning, regarding the UAE. They are our trade partners. They are our friends an allies in the Mideast. They are partners in the war on terror. That may be true. I choose not to carry that risk burden again, under the same conditions. It is about access and security. The safety of Americans is the first Constitutional priority, for all of our government officials, over and above all trade considerations.

This is not a racial argument. It is an argument framed in political circumstances, observed in the recent past.

This sends a bad message to the Mideast

Pardon my French, but tough $hit, Mr. President. The Mideast has been sending thousands of bad messages to Israel, the United States, the UK, the Philippines, China, India, Spain, France, Africa, Russia, Denmark, Holland etc. for decades. We finally got those messages, Mr. President. The terrorists made sure we got them, loud and clear. Forgive us if we are not quite ready to break bread with another 'respectable' Mideast partner, give them the keys to our house, our car and the leash to the family dog.

Don't forget what Ronald Reagan said.

Trust but verify.

Ronald Reagan felt is was fine to do business with this new man, Mikhail Gorbachev. It did not stop him from railing against the evil empire. He kept his country's security first and foremost in his mind. Remember how many exuberant investors lost their shirts in the great Russian Glasnost experiment, because they had a reckless freewheeling attitude?

I know the Dubai government is not an evil communist empire, but the existence of evil terrorists, using moderate Arab governments and businesses to facilitate their funding and dissemination is undeniable and verifyable.

This is not racism. It is motivated self interest and self defense. I have the right to be suspicious. I have the right to defend myself, at least in words.

All the Bureaucrats need is another excuse

What happens when the inevitable lousy border security policy results in a smuggled WMD, and the death of thousands more American citizens? Without the Dubai port straw man, government bureaucrats will have nobody to blame but themselves. This is a position they do not want to be in. It is brutal irony. They would love to hold that Dubai race card, close to their chest, for quick emergency deployment. It would allow them to continue the covert public sector money grab, while delivering that world famous government issued incompetence, for which they are so famous. This is fine as long as our brave soldiers are killing terrorists left and right overseas. Engaging the infidel, for a quick express ticket to Allah, is just a short hop to Iraq; at least for now.

This is not a racist argument. We all know nobody in government ever takes the blame for their failures. I do not want them to have another vehicle.

Straight from the Jimmy Carter Playbook

Finally, Mr. President and company, you should all know that throwing a tantrum over the impressed will of the American people, then implying they are engaging in ignorant racism, is straight from the Jimmy Carter general malaise playbook. It is politically foolish. This folly separated Carter from his base, and invigorated his enemies. I see that familiar pattern here.

It is no wonder Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are standing shoulder to shoulder with you on this one.


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