Mass Hysteria
There is nothing better than watching politicians falling over themselves to see who can scream the loudest over some issue of grave importance as we now see happening over the Port issue.
I read the NYT's today and all the industry people are bemused over the reaction. Oh and I heard on Newshour tonight from David Brooks that this issue first came up from Michael Savage....LOL....not someone I would want to be a follower of in a debate.
1 Comments:
I watched that same News Hour segment. Brooks made valid points. And I certainly don't think that making wild, unsupported charges against the UAE would be appropriate. But... there are some issues that genuinely need to be addressed.
Such as Treasury Sec. Snow apparently not being aware of the deal even though he is the chairman of one of the committees that approved it. And some of the exceptions to the norm in these kinds of transactions that are found in this transaction do undercut what Brooks was saying about industry experts not being concerned to some extent.
If there is a normal way of going about making these kinds of transactions... why the exceptions in this one? Bush says that the UAE shouldn't be held to a different standard, but it appears that his own administration held them to a different standard in the fine print of this proposed deal.
What I would like to see in this case is for the full facts to come out and to be exposed to the light of day... without anyone freaking out about a boogeyman that might not exist. If this deal is on the up and up then a review will reveal that and we'll all be able to get on with life.
That said... I am sympathetic to the notion that American companies ought to be running these ports. And I would apply that every bit as much to ports being run by Brits or some other caucasian ally as I would this proposed deal. I mean... how much outsourcing can we do and have this remain "America"? Which is completely separate from anything to do with 9/11 or terrorism.
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