"On Thursday, Dubai-based DP World backed away in the face of unrelenting criticism and announced it would transfer its management of port terminals in major U.S. cities to an American entity." (USA Today, 3/10/06) Sometimes I wonder how the American economy has grown so strong when it seems we have a tendency to scare companies away. :)
I am inclined to agree with the President as expects that the failure of this transaction will harm the American economy. Sure, it was pleasing to see that our government was taking national security into consideration as it examined the Dubai ports deal, however, I believe that national security was not the only issue. We must examine our economic security.
Before I get on to that, lets highlight the national security concerns brought up by both the Republican and Democratic parties. The concerns were not primarily that Dubai would harbor terrorists, let illegal goods through the ports, etc. A main concern was that the people whom Dubai hired to inspect the ports would be from the UAE, and may use the information they gather about the ports against the United States. Again, the issue is legitimate, and we should all take comfort from the fact that our government is considering these things.
Unfortunately, what many fail to overlook in this situation are the facts. Though we might have ended up with a foreign company controlling our ports, they would not have owned the ports. The ports in question would still have belonged to the United States, but would've been leased to Dubai. Another fact that some overlook is that foreign nations have been controlling our ports for a very long time. Granted, these nations have never been affiliated with terrorism, but the UAE has proven itself friendly to the United States.
According to the Department of State, "The United States has enjoyed friendly relations with the U.A.E. since 1971. Private commercial ties, especially in petroleum, have developed into friendly government-to-government ties which include security assistance. The breadth, depth, and quality of U.S.-U.A.E. relations increased dramatically as a result of the U.S.-led coalition's campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. In 2002, the U.S. and the U.A.E. launched a strategic partnership dialogue covering virtually every aspect of the relationship. The U.A.E. has been a key partner in the war on terror after September 11, 2001. The United States was the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the U.A.E. and has had an ambassador resident in the U.A.E. since 1974." (emphasis added)
If there are really no firm-standing national security issues, let's zoom in on economic security. I believe that one of the pillars of our national security--our economy-- is put at stake when we close our doors to free trade. As the United States we are the beacon of free trade and a benchmark economy. What type of message do we send when we say "Okay, we'll let you in, but... um... not you."? Again, if the security concerns were legitimate, we'd have an excuse; but there ARE no security worries (at least none that can't be taken care of by the fact that the US will still own the ports)!
In spite of the fact that those who were criticizing Dubai, the President, and the ports deal thought they were looking out for national security, they were really undermining it. If our economic security (which is upheld by free trade) is undermined, we undermine our national security.
