Shame On Us?

Dubai Ports World has pulled out of the port management deal and president Bush is not too happy about it. Today president Bush said, "I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East." Oh really? He is concerned about sending the wrong message? If an act of war based on rigged intelligence isn’t the wrong message, then I don’t know what is.

For the first time in a long time, Congress has echoed the concerns of the American people. We do not want a foreign entity who has links with terrorists managing our ports. So now the president is disappointed with Congress and if Congress represents the American people, doesn’t that mean that he is disappointed with us? Of course he could never be as disappointed with us as we are with him.

It’s very difficult trying to understand the intentions of this administration. The president says, “America makes no distinction between the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists, and you're an enemy of the United States of America,” yet we know that a couple of the 9/11 hijackers were from the United Arab Emirates and that money to the hijackers was transferred through UAE banks. The 9/11 Commission Report cites possible ties between the UAE and bin Laden and there is evidence that al Qaeda infiltrated the UAE government. You have to wonder what his definition of, “harboring terrorists” is.

In 2001, the president said to the Nation and to the World, “You are either with us or against us” but who are they really with? It doesn't seem that they are with the will of the American people.

For the American people, today marks a small victory in the war on terror but until the Congress and the administration takes serious measures to secure our ports, there still may be a heavy price to pay.