Harry Krause wrote:
Reggie Smithers wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
thunder wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:26:16 +0000, NOYB wrote:

The UAE will become a critical ally should military action need to be
taken against Iran. Currently, the UAE and Iran are in a dispute
over a
small island in the Strait of Hormuz named Abu Masa. The Iranians
occupy
it, and should we come to blows with Iran, the control of that
island will
be critical to keeping the shipping lanes open in the Strait of
Hormuz.
Look at a map, NOYB. Iran's occupation of the Tunb and Abu Masa
Islands
would be untenable in the event of war. We already have basing
rights in
UAE, Qatar, and Oman.


The port deal is not about financial gain of Bush or his friends.
It's
about greasing the palms of an important ally prior to our next
phase in
the war on terror.

NOYB is just desperately looking for rationalizations to explain away
this latest screw-up of you know who.

This is a screw-up from a PR stand point. It does make sense to allow
Arab companies invest in our country, the same way we have invested in
countries around the world.


Oh, I agree. An office building, a soap manufacturing plant. Why not.
But not important infrastructure that has anything to do with national
security. I don't want Arabs running our ports, our airports, our water
treatment plants, our waste disposal businesses, our highways, our
hospitals, our few remaining defense plants, the AEC, a nuclear power
plant, Los Alamos, NASA, or whatever else the Bush Administration is
planning to sell off.

UAE firms have operated in the port of Houston since the 90's, without
any controversy or fear. As I said, this is a PR mistake, not a
Security Issue.

--
Reggie
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That's my story and I am sticking to it.

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