Dubai
Found on Candide’s Notebooks:
The absurdity of Americans’ rejection of the Dubai deal is equally striking, given that, as Larry Lindsey wrote in the Wall Street Journal last week, the United Arab Emirates “provides the main base to service U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean ” and is “the largest servicer of our naval vessels anywhere in the world outside the U.S. In the case of the American Navy, the UAE not only manages the ports, but its citizens staff the concessions that provision the fleet, and UAE nationals provide the port’s security. Logically, it is tough to explain overseas how merely making a UAE company the manager of a port where the workers are still Americans and security is still provided by America is an increase in risk over what we tolerate already.”
Racism is a better explanation for the resistance to the ports deal than terrorism. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with President Bush on this one. Too bad his fear-mongering is coming back to bite him on the Dubai.