Infinite Monkeys...and the Democrats will use the GOP's bones for tools in 2008.
Hysteria? No. That is the only reasonable political conclusion to be drawn from the Dubai Port World fiasco.
Why, Mr. President? Why?
"One of my concerns... is mixed messages. And the message is, it's okay for a British company, but a Middle Eastern company -- maybe we ought not to deal the same way. It's a mixed message."
Yes, sir. We... uh, appreciate your concerns. The answer is, of course, Britain is a steadfast friend and ally of the United States. The United Arab Emirates is not. Not really.
Oh, sure, there are things we... I... do not know. I do not have super-top-secret-codeword-security clearance. So it is conceivable, for instance, that the UAE has aided the U.S. effort against al Qaeda in ways we may never know, or not know for quite some time. It's possible that UAE plays host to one of those "secret CIA prisons" we've heard about now and again. And, by way of thanks for the Emirates' cooperation in the global war on terrorism, the United States government has seen fit to reward the nation -- well within the sphere of influence, if not an ally, of Iran, by the way -- with operational control of six large, strategically important U.S. ports. Makes sense to me.
Monkey David observes shewdly that our liberal brethren (and even a well-known acquaintance on the center-right) wrung their hands over the Danish cartoons, but assert with near metaphysical certainty that the port deal is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Well, the deal is wrong, and the very worst people happen to be right this time. We have enough trouble with this global war on terrorism without introducing another problem of our own free will.
Let us be frank. The Bush Administration has been inconsistent in its prosecution of the war. That is to say, it has failed to recognize its true friends and its true enemies. Mostly, we've coddled our enemies at the expense of our friends and so have earned our enemies' contempt.
For this reason -- and no other -- the United States will be engaged in a very long war.
On the other hand, President Bush may be right. Perhaps we're overreacting. "This kind of reaction is totally illogical," said Philip Damas, research director at Drewry Shipping Consultants of London. "The location of the headquarters of a company in the age of globalism is irrelevant." Yes, yes... of course. Whatever makes big business happy. That's all that matters.
No... who are we kidding? This is Harriet Miers on a geopolitical scale.
Perhaps the anarchists were on to something.
Lileks adds a few intemperate remarks of his own.
Posted by H.L. Monkey at February 21, 2006 11:30 PMWe should all be encouraged by Jimmah Carter's support of the Dubai port deal. Right? I mean, that is reason enough to support it, isn't it?
Posted by: JamesPh. at February 22, 2006 07:17 AM