Okay, we've all seen the scare quotes. Many of us have hyperventilated and spun conspiracy theories over Bush's determination to let an Arab-owned company run our ports, or something. Some of us have seen the overly protesting pooh-pooh treatment in an editorial on the Financial Times. So what's this all about? Is it a big deal?

Well, the Bush administration thinks it's a big deal, because Dubya is sticking to his guns. Republican politicians think it's a big deal, because they're distancing themselves from him. Democrat politicians think it's a big deal, because they're stooping to the worst race-baiting hypocrisy in order to attack this. But how big a deal is it, really?

A fairly big one, actually. But not for any of the reasons most people are screaming.

First, here's [link|http://www.squiggler.com/2006/02/dubai_port_deal.html|a dose of facts from Squiggler] to help calm down those who are capable of calm. He links to [link|http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/02/334311.shtml|Indymedia, of all places].

Excerpt:

The critical point is that Dubai Ports World won't be running the port of Baltimore, or any other U.S. port for that matter. What it would be doing, as ex-Rep. Helen Delich Bentley (R-MD), a respected expert on Maritime matters, explained in a Feb. 18th letter, to the "Baltimore Sun," is hiring the longshoremen to load and unload the cargo from the vessels. The Maryland Port Authority, an agency of the state, she underscored, would continue to "run the port of Baltimore's public terminals and be the spokesman for the port in general." Bentley added that this transaction only means that the "UAE's Dubai Ports World will be the firm bidding competitively for contracts to handle cargo coming off or loading on to ships in the six ports where P&O Ports has contracts. Baltimore is one of those ports." (2)

It is also important to emphasize that the vast majority of the cargo handling in the six U.S. ports mentioned above is done by union labor, who are locally based workers. They are card carrying members of the International Longshorman's Association (AFL-CIO), which is headquartered in New York City. This is the same union, (Local 829 ILA), that this writer belonged to, in Baltimore, back in the late 1950s. The idea that the longshoremen will somehow not be able to do the same kind of highly professional stevedoring work for Dubai, which they did for the P&O company, and other stevedoring companies before them, just doesn't fly. For the ILA member, it will be just another day's work on the docks, irrespective of who's doing the hiring.

I say:

Okay, I feel better now. But not all the way better. I've still got serious misgivings.

One big red flag is Jimmy Carter is coming out in favor of this. Jimmy Carter. Possibly the worst President this country has ever had. He's not just stupid. Even stupid people are right on occasion, by sheer accident. But Jimmy Carter is *never* right. It's as if he sits down to figure just what stance on a given question would do the worst damage to the free world and to the United States, and that's the position he takes. Yes, I'm questioning his patriotism. Would you prefer I question his sanity?

Another detail that bugs me is hardly anyone is asking the big question. What big question? This big question: should foreigners - any foreigners - be in charge of our ports in the first place? National security is one thing you just don't outsource. Not even to the Brits. And the Arabs are way more foreign than the Brits.

Don't talk to me about globalization. I think it's a big mistake to globalize before the world has been made safe for democracy. First, let's have some international rule of law that actually means something. Then we can globalize all we like. Right now the world is a bad neighborhood. Always has been, of course. But only recently have we deluded ourselves otherwise.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the Cold War being over is over. It's not 1992 anymore. We need to face facts.

Our ports should be policed and run by American companies, and should be required by law to hire only American citizens, subject to a background check. I don't trust the unions to look out for us. Unions are weak, and when they're not weak, the Mafia are running them. We need a law.

OH, and by the way... [link|http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&artnum=2&issue=20060221|the WMD story is heating up again].



[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/politics.american.html#20060222|Angelfire link] (turn off Javascript to avoid popups)

Freenet: SSK@jbf~W~x49RjZfyJwplqwurpNmg0PAgM/marlowe/23//politics.american.html#20060222

[link|http://fnmarlowe.blogspot.com/2006/02/letting-uae-run-our-ports.html|Comment at blogger.com]

[link|http://marlowe-essays.blogspot.com/2005/01/what-we-need-prescription-for-our.html|What We Need - a prescription for our times]

[link|http://marlowe-essays.blogspot.com/2005/01/where-i-stand-proverbs-and-axioms-for.html|Where I Stand - Proverbs and axioms for the real world]

[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/dictionary.html|the Marlowe Dictionary]