Today, according to CNN:
President Bush said Friday he was concerned about the "broader message" that the failed port operation deal with a United Arab Emirates company sends to other Arab allies in the U.S. war on terrorism.
"In order to win the war on terror, we've got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East," Bush told a meeting of the National Newspaper Association in Washington.
Although I neither support nor oppose the sale of P&O to Dubai Ports World, I regret to say that the President is absolutely right on this point. Although ideally, I would prefer to see America's ports be run by American worker-owned companies or by some level of government, the politically opportunistic, reactionary tactics employed by those opposed to this particular business transaction are shameful.
Those on the left or within the Democratic Party who claim that this fearmongering episode came about based on a rational assessment of the potential risks of Dubai's ownership of a few American port facilities (two of which are located in my own city) have literally begun to drown in a muddy pool of their own spin and hypocrisy. The truth is, political insiders saw this particular routine transaction as a way to stir up the ire of the "average American" against the President. And it has indeed succeeded. But at what cost?
As it stands, America's esteem in the Arab and Muslim world (don't get those two confused) is at an historic low. Let me pose it to you rhetorically, dear reader: As an Arab or Muslim, observing American public opinion, how does it make you feel that (at the time) a vast majority of Americans supported an unprovoked and illegal war and occupation of a Muslim-dominated nation, and subsequently an even greater majority of Americans created such a public outcry that investors from a pro-American Middle Eastern country were forced to abandon their bid to buy a BRITISH company's American operations.
Dare we even consider the Abu Ghraib photos, the horrific and illegal detention of hundreds at Guantanamo, the shameful apologias and support for Israel while at the same time threatening the elected Palestinian government, or the shoddy treatment of America's Muslims since 2001?
Shame on the American public, and shame on the callous opportunists who have sacrificed their own principles to leverage racism, xenophobia, and fear to their own political advantage. Bush has enough strikes against him. Remember Katrina and his Administration's baldly insufficient response? Or the fact that poverty has risen in America for every consecutive year of his presidency?
Why is my own party, the Democratic Party, and more broadly the American left, able to countenance the use of racism for political gain? Let's focus on the real issues, especially the BROAD problems with globalization and free trade, economic inequality, and injustice in the world, rather than further stigmatizing a group of people who've already taken more than their share of undeserved blame for all of this country's ills.
We won't have justice in this world or an end to terrorism until we confront and defeat the racism plaguing our own nation.
[the following is from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, www.adc.org, a civil rights organization]
Anti Arabism Now at a Port Near You
Washington, DC, February 21, 2006--The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is concerned by controversy surrounding the acquisition of the London-based company, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O), by Thunder FZE, a subsidiary of the UAE-based Dubai World Ports (DP World).
ADC President Mary Rose Oakar said, "ADC fully supports all measures to keep our country secure and DP World has received clearance from the highest levels of government to operate here in the US. ADC is strongly opposed to the rhetoric and bias surrounding the company solely because it is Arab owned. Those who purport that ports can be securely run by a British company, but not an Arab one, are engaging in racial profiling on the corporate level."
As it currently stands, P&O, the fourth largest ports company in the world, has been running major commercial operations at ports located in Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. With the recent acquisition, barring any unforeseen legislation, DP World will takeover this role, making it one of the three largest port operators in the world, with a presence in Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, and many other ports.
However, neither P&O nor DP World, or any other port company determines or sets standards for security in the US; these are determined by the US government. All port owners must abide by the Maritime Transportation Security Act, passed by Congress in 2002 and the International Ship and Port Facility Security codes enacted in 2004. Both sets of security measures are enforced in the US by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) which is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP combines the inspectional workforces and broad border authorities of US Customs, US Immigration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the entire US Border Patrol. Furthermore, CBP works to keep cargo safe through its "Container Security Initiative" whereby cargo containers destined for the US are inspected and pre-screened by CBP officers in that country. The UAE signed onto CBP's "Container Security Initiative" in December 2004.