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GOP Governors Threaten to Block Port Deal

Fred Jones

By Fred Jones
in The Tailgate

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skinstzar

skinstzar

Posted
Posted
That's just politics.

Safety and Security will be no different that it is currently.

I hope you are right, sad truth is that I will go on my merry way and a week from now I will have forgotten this issue ever existed. I pay 30% of my income to have that kind of blind faith I just hope the right decisions are made.

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Kilmer17

Kilmer17

Posted
Posted
If the definition of xenophobe means that I don't like Middle Eastern state owned compaines coming within breathing distance of operational control of our Nations ports, then so be it, I'm a xenophobe. I'm not going to put political correctness above National Security.

For the 4th and final time, Port Operations is not the same thing as Port Security.

If it were, I would completely and totally agree with your stance.

But it's not. And you (and others) should be able to understand the difference.

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RedskinDan0557

RedskinDan0557

Posted
Posted
For the 4th and final time, Port Operations is not the same thing as Port Security.

If it were, I would completely and totally agree with your stance.

But it's not. And you (and others) should be able to understand the difference.

And you should be able to understand that while that company may not be in charge of physically inspecting the 5% of containers that do get inspected, they are in charge of which container goes where, whats on the manifest (ie: whats in the container & what is the country of origin etc....) and working with and coordinating operations around the security apparatus thats already in place.

Sounds like Iran or North Korea know who to go to when they get their nukes ready, no need for a missile, they'll have it shipped and hand delivered.

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Winslowalrob

Winslowalrob

Posted
Posted

Christ guys, if we truly want to end the war on terror, we have to become trading partners with middle-eastern muslims (how many here define a potential terrorist). Dubai is a solid country, AND they will not control our security. If the Dems or the Repubs block this, this is basically a racist policy designed to score cheap political points. I thought exporting free trade ideas was what we WANTED. This group OUTBID the other groups. They are quality businessmen and their acumen should be rewarded, not punished because they are from the wrong neighborhood. If these people had ties to terrorism, believe me we would be hearing about it. You don't think the mighty NSA or CIA has been checking up on them? Let them take the port.

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Kilmer17

Kilmer17

Posted
Posted
Christ guys, if we truly want to end the war on terror, we have to become trading partners with middle-eastern muslims (how many here define a potential terrorist). Dubai is a solid country, AND they will not control our security. If the Dems or the Repubs block this, this is basically a racist policy designed to score cheap political points. I thought exporting free trade ideas was what we WANTED. This group OUTBID the other groups. They are quality businessmen and their acumen should be rewarded, not punished because they are from the wrong neighborhood. If these people had ties to terrorism, believe me we would be hearing about it. You don't think the mighty NSA or CIA has been checking up on them? Let them take the port.

Strange bedfellows huh?

The amount of Xenophobia and outright racism displayed in this thread and by politicians from both parties is absolutely astounding.

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Prosperity

Prosperity

Posted
Posted
I disagree.

While this issue is a great talking point (for both sides). The reality of it isnt that big of a deal.

The US would still control the security at the ports. And it's a COMPANY based in UAE (not the Govt of the UAE) that would be running operations.

And as such, that company is just as likely to employ potential terrorsits as the British Company that has been running the ports for the last 6 years.

This is a non issue.

Besides, have you seen the people checking your bags at Dulles?

Yeah Kilmer seems to be right on here. People are just using this as political ammo.

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DjTj

DjTj

Posted
Posted
Strange bedfellows huh?

The amount of Xenophobia and outright racism displayed in this thread and by politicians from both parties is absolutely astounding.

Very strange indeed :).

I am not surprised by the stuff on the thread, but the politicans? Sigh...

It shouldn't be astounding nor surprising. A majority of Americans feel this way, and they always have - it's why we can't get a rational immigration policy and why we have such trouble negotiating trade agreements. It's hard to separate patriotism from xenophobia when you're speaking in sound bytes.

... oddly enough, this is one area of policy where I think I'm happy that the big corporations have undue influence over the process.

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Winslowalrob

Winslowalrob

Posted
Posted
It shouldn't be astounding nor surprising. A majority of Americans feel this way, and they always have - it's why we can't get a rational immigration policy and why we have such trouble negotiating trade agreements. It's hard to separate patriotism from xenophobia when you're speaking in sound bytes.

... oddly enough, this is one area of policy where I think I'm happy that the big corporations have undue influence over the process.

We weren't talking about the average american. I am quite aware of the xenophobia... but the 4 politicans that are doing this... doh!

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rictus58

rictus58

Posted
Posted
I didnt call him a racist. I called him Xenophobic.

http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=Xenophobia

entry found for Xenophobia.

Main Entry: prejudice

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: intolerance

Synonyms: ageism, animosity, antipathy, apartheid, aversion, bad opinion, belief, bias, bigotry, chauvinism, contemptuousness, detriment, discrimination, disgust, dislike, displeasure, disrelish, enmity, foregone conclusion, head-set, illiberality, injustice, jaundiced eye, mind-set, misjudgment, narrow-mindedness, one-sidedness, partiality, pique, preconceived notion, preconception, prejudgment, prepossession, racism, repugnance, revulsion, sexism, slant, spleen, tilt, twist, umbrage, unfairness, warp, Xenophobia

What are you going to call me?

On one hand, you are correct, they will not control port security, however, would you approve of the sale of Dulles,BWI, Orlando Int'l to Iran?

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Winslowalrob

Winslowalrob

Posted
Posted

On one hand, you are correct, they will not control port security, however, would you approve of the sale of Dulles,BWI, Orlando Int'l to Iran?

Apples and oranges. The UAE is not BUYING the port. Would you approve of the sale of Dulles by Mickey Mouse? Because he is as likely to buy the airport as THE NATION OF IRAN.

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DjTj

DjTj

Posted
Posted
We weren't talking about the average american. I am quite aware of the xenophobia... but the 4 politicans that are doing this... doh!

All the politicians from New York and New Jersey are simply representing the "average american" - they shouldn't be faulted for acting according to the wishes of their constituency.

Ehrlich is a Republican governor running for reelection in a Democratic state - he needs to distance himself from Bush as much as possible, although I'm not sure this is the best strategy.

Frist and other Southern Republicans probably really do think this is a bad idea, and they certainly don't want to let the Democrats score any political points.

...I think they'll probably be successful in blocking this. This looks far more inflammatory than the CNOOC-Unocal deal that was nixed last year.

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Air Force Cane

Air Force Cane

Posted
Posted

not only is this company owned by the UAE, it is the GOVERNMENT of the UAE that controls it.

hm, maybe someoene in Al-Queda wants to kidnap a Prince's wife in order to get info on our vulnerabilities? maybe they can smuggle in some dude to work on the docks? maybe they can get schematics of how the ports are laid out?

this is such a bad idea on EVERY level...

wait until Iran has a nuclear bomb and then let's see how friendly the UAE is to us..

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luckydevil

luckydevil

Posted
Posted

Kilmer is dead on.

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1677

I thought this was a pretty good point

But if Arab companies truly cannot be trusted to operate U.S. ports, then shouldn’t they be banned from all involvement with U.S. airports, farming, electrical generation, water works, nuclear power plants, chemical, biomedical, and pharmaceutical production, and tunnel, bridge, stadium, and skyscraper construction? Extending this flawed logic further, perhaps even airlines from Arab countries should be banned from landing at U.S. airports because they might be used in terrorism or bring terrorists into the United States—in spite of the fact that the planes used on 9/11 were U.S. airliners.

After 9/11, U.S. authorities incarcerated and questioned people based on their Arabic nationalities and Islamic religion. The vast majority of them had no connection to terrorism or the 9/11 attacks. This was widely perceived to have been an overreaction. Yet more than four years after 9/11, this racial and ethnic profiling has now moved from individuals to businesses. The Bush administration was right to insist that no security threat emanated from a routine business purchase of a British firm by an Arab company. The politicians should quit posturing and move on to more important issues.

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stevenaa

stevenaa

Posted
Posted

So you guys really think it is ok for the UAE, who owns and controls this company, to have access to the manifests of every shipment in and out of these ports? This is such a stupid idea it is beyond defense. There are many other ways to support free trade with the middle East without compromising our security. Sure, they won't control security, but there access level will be greatly improved. Besides, how many terrorists are successful due to them having any control of Security? What they'll have is easier access to our borders through these ports.

And this is no comparison to the Brits owning it because they aren't exactly in the Middle of enemy territory. The odds are much greater for misuse with the UAE running the ports. Dumb and dumber.

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