I think it's politics at its worst. I also think it's a lousy idea to turn it down for a number of reasons, but the UAE has apparently thrown in the towel as of today. I hope there were some backroom negotiations, because we have a LOT to lose. Start off with oil, then our use of their military bases, our use of their ports for our Navy, their purchase of our military and civilian aircraft from Boeing, having them continue to check cargo that leaves their ports and heads our way, their help in training the Iraqi police force and military, any legitimate ground they've gained fighting terrorists...and so on and so forth. Now, here's the question: Do we kick out ALL foreign-backed or owned port companies, starting with China and Japan? Where do we draw the line? How about Singapore? Taiwan? Denmark? Who's going to take over? Do any US port companies have the capacity to do it? When the leases at New York and Newark came up NO US company even bid on it. We don't seem to have a problem with airlines from Egypt flying into our busiest airports, but a Dubai-backed company, which would have been run mostly (if not completely) by Americans and employed an American workforce (and a union one for all the pro-union folks here) gets blocked. To top it off, they couldn't even send legislation forward to block the deal on its own. They were going to have to attach it to the spending bill for Iraq and Katrina. Gutless. I'd like to be wrong and believe that our politicians are looking out for us, but it's just another example of why Congress is a joke.
This is CABL.com posting #163055. Tiny Link: cabl.co/mQz5
