DUBAI? Are They Kidding? DUBAI?!

No. The United Arab Emirates are not our friends. The Saudis are not our friends. And Dubai is not an ally. Michael Chertoff, the putative head of Homeland Security is a weasel-faced, ass-kissing, Bush administration know-nothing flack. He has defended the ill-conceived plan to give Dubai control over six American ports. The transactions with Dubai Ports World were examined by a committee (including his own people), Chertoff said and Dubai is considered an American ally in fighting terrorism. The six ports are in: Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami. This plan to turn over US ports to Dubai is not just insane, it’s Bush administration treachery. Dubai is one of seven individual states in the Arab Peninsula ruled by emirs. These seven states formed a federation in 1971 and called themselves the United Arab Emirates. Formerly, they had been known as the Trucial States. The Trucial States were founded between the 7th and 8th centuries. In the 19th century they granted the United Kingdom control of their defense and foreign affairs. Those treaties ended when the seven emirates merged and became an independent entity. The UAE is made up of five states on the Persian Gulf: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qayuayn and Al Fujayrah on the Gulf of Oman. Ra’s al Khaymah, which is on the Persian Gulf, joined the other six in 1972. And why are these emirates a continuing terrorist concern? 1) The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. 2) The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Libya. 3) According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system. 4) After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts. At best, this plan is a shortsighted strategy to salvage the US reputation in the Middle East and to bolster our influence. At worst, the Bush administration is once again selling us down the river with its cockamamie schemes and political miscalculations.