Guffaw! Nicely opined, Koop.



We need so perspective, here.

Operating a port facility is something that many cities contract. Like some cities contract garbage collection. If you think about it a moment, trash collection could be a lot more serious threat than the management of a port. See, the contractor doesn't have security responsibility or authority, that is retained by the city, state and federal gov. There are security checks of personnel and of facilities. The CG can conduct warrant-less inspections, so can customs. Cargo is inspected before it leaves the foreign port and before it is allowed to be unloaded by a variety of different folks from CG to USDA. Nor can the port contractor hire just anybody that tickles their fancy, they must go through the notoriously uh,... demanding Longshoreman's Union. Finally, cargo is unloaded at an area of low population density.

Now contrast that with garbage collection.
Security checks ... uh
Cargo inspection ... uh
Employee background checks ... uh

Plus, who notices a garbage truck? Who searches them? A terrorist team could hijack one and load it with explosives and drive it just about anywhere. Garbage trucks are practically invisible because nobody really wants to look at them.

Bot

A point that no one has mentioned here is that before the British or UAE got the contract to manage the ports this contract was up for bids. Why didn't an American company bid low enough to get it?

All us comsumers would have raised 10 kinds of hell if the lowest bid by a foreign company had been turned down in favor of a much higher bid by an American company. This would have driven up the prices of all the products coming in through that port. Why did the British company get the bid? They got it because they were among the lowest and the kept it because they did what the bid called for. Where were the American companies while all this was going on?

The Brits sold their company because that is capitalism. The UAE bought the company because they reckoned they could make a profit. They had enough faith in the US and its economic future to invest and they will do their best to make it work because they can't afford to loose billions of bucks.

I lived in the UAE from 1980 to 1990. It is a country as none you have ever seen before. If you think the Jews are good businessmen you need to go to Dubai. But before you go you sew you pants pockets shut because you have never dealt with business men until you've tried to make a deal with a Dubian.

If you are worried about the UAE managing the ports check into how many foreign companies own how many US industries. Over 40% of the non-chain motels in the US are owned by the Patel family from India. I would venture to say that 80% of the non-chain motels in the US are owned by foreigners. Granted that these motels are not crucial to national security but the repersent a fair part of the national economy. And, again remember, every one of these American industries that is owned by a foreigner was for sale to an American before the foreigner bought it.

You guys are all wrong.

Read up on a fella named John Snow (US Treasury and CSX).

-Mike

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1989 300CE - 269,000 km
1994 SL600 - 59,000 km

So a group of Arabs take down the WTC buildings in New York, and now a few years later its supposed to be OK to have an Arab firm run the port in that city. Interesting. I think I can understand the resentment, just by the symbolism alone.

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2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
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I think we need as many like minded allies as possible. If those allies are in the middle east, so much the better. There is no doubt a quid pro quo in the wings; perhaps in preparation for conflict with Iran?

John Snow.

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1989 300CE - 269,000 km
1994 SL600 - 59,000 km

allies?

Name the US ports that are run by a US company? China Shipping Group is a state owned enterprise under the direct administration of the Chinese Central Government and has a huge terminal that they run in LA. Singapore and Taiwan also have sister terminals to their home ports that are under they own management, and I don't know but would expect the Japanese and Koreans do also.
The Patels are more of a group than family name by the way, but you're right they do have the “by the day – week or hour” market cornered.
Foreign investment in this country is the current grease to keep this machine going. I wouldn't be surprised to see a major top in equities right in through here and when we look back this could very well be the event that sets it off.

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"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
Marcus Aurelius

I'm looking forward to reading Back room deals by Johnny "insider" Snow.

It should be hitting bookshelves this time next year.

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1989 300CE - 269,000 km
1994 SL600 - 59,000 km

Whoa, what's this? Me and MS F sorta seeing eye to eye?

In some ways I'm troubled by this, but OTOH, reports are that this company does an excellent job of running ports. We keep saying we want Arabs to join the modern world and here these guys seem to be doing productive work with other nations in a calm, rational manner, and still people are getting all freaked out about it.

Yes, some of the 9/11 crew have ties in some way to the UAE but all the hijackers were based in the USA for a long time -- so was Timothy McVeigh -- and no one is asserting that our gub-mint had anything to do with them, nobody rational, that is.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

You've stated excellently my misgivings on the topic. I'm torn. It does seem shaky in many ways.

Funny thing though, we and the Brits operated ports around the world for fun and profit for years, doing so right now in Iraq, and now we decide we don't like the idea of another nation running our ports.

Hmmm..... what's good for the goose is not good for the gander after all.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

This is likely the wave of the future, given our big imbalance in trade. All those American dollars we're shipping abroad want to come back and buy some bigger action.

We might be on our way to becoming the first truly international country. A bit freaky....

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Isn't there a lot of racism in the arguments against this deal?
One of the 9-11 terrorists was from UAE; therefore noone from the UAE is to be trusted. Replace the "UAE" with "Jew" or "black" and see if it doesn't stir some sentiments.
Timothy McVeigh was a white guy--are ALL white guys terrorists?
Anyone who judges by the group is a fool. ( except democrats--that are all evil...)

That's rediculous. We don't pose a terrorist threat to anybody. We don't sneak attack. We invade in force.

Danny

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Probably – for the average guy on the street. The politicians see that to take a real look at this is suicidal so it's universal, but what Bush is saying is very correct. Mideasterners are grasping to believe that we're not anti- Muslim/Arab, but realize the terrorists don't represent all of them. With all of the current protests going on and now with this slam I think we're seeing that it could go that way though. My daughter took a week RR in Dubai from her KBR job in Baghdad this week and says nothing seems any different. Dubai and Qatar are fab places if you're into extravagance. She is.
We need all the friends we can get right now and this over-reaction is not good for any of us in the long run.
Dubai and Bahrain were always rich, before oil was in the picture. Dubai smuggled gold into India and Bahrain was and is a center for natural pearls. Dubai is a trade center and will follow the money, and in that regard can never be counted on. They're “what have you done for me lately” kind of folks, but just the same we don't want them to shun investment here. Little things can really shift the trends of things, and our great strength is that money feels safe here. If that changes it won't be pretty. The only reason we did not have a true hyperinflation in the seventies was because we were the worlds banker and had the ultimate bonding capacity. Should that change you may discover that the guy holding the paper on your house doesn't speak very good English.

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"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
Marcus Aurelius