[shumozar]

The key sticking point here is that Dubai DP World is owned by the Dubai government; it is not merely a foreign-owned company.

Isn't PSA of Singapore which already operates in Los Angeles port and was bidding for P%O also partly government owned?

Now all these literary worthies have suddenly acquired profound and unimpeachable knowledge about our ports. With breathtaking arrogance, they claim to know what will make us safe and what might endanger us. According to Mr. Friedman, we need not worry about the takeover of several ports by the government of Dubai, because “the U.S. Coast Guard still controls all aspects of port security, entry and exits; the U.S. Customs Service is still in charge of inspecting the containers, and U.S. longshoremen still handle the cargos.” According to Mr. Brooks, “nearly every expert who knows something about port security” agrees that there is no reason for worry.

These pundits don’t condescend to engage in serious debate. They gush over Dubai’s luxury hotels and skyscrapers, without mentioning the utter absence of democracy, transparency and human rights. They praise the United Arab Emirates for behaving like an ally against Al Qaeda, while ignoring its recent connections with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. They seem to think that if any foreign firm is allowed to operate an American port, then a company that is wholly owned by a foreign dictatorship must be treated the same way.

I thought shipping companies which operate terminals at seaports are much like foreign airlines who have bases at airports. Also, most checks of cargo are done at the port of embarkation, so if people want to be worried, they shouldn't allow any shipment from a foreign country which they don't trust (abstinence is the most effective form of contraception).

The UAE has no connections with Osama bin Laden or terrorists. It isn't in the UAE's interest to support terrorists, because if they did they would be victimized by the terrorists they're helping. It'll come back to hit them in the groin. The UAE is investing heavily in tourism and properties, and is marketing itself as a safe haven for tourists and expatriates, the last thing it wants is a terror attack on its own soil, or even in ports abroad run by its government.

I see a lot of people bring up stuff about a "dictatorship" and "boycott of Israel" as though it's relevant to this deal. I'm ignorant as to the criteria for investing in the States would be, but if Israel is so dear to the American people, then no Arab investment should be allowed in the States at all, since the majority of Arab countries support a boycott of Israel. And I personally believe the UAE, if it does support this boycott, does it for its own safety rather than to harm Israel. Any Arab country which publicly announces that it trades with Israel will be subjugated to terror attacks (DP World's Ted Bilkey's comment about good business relations with Israel's Zim Shipping puts Dubai at risk.. it should have been kept secret). The UAE's "dictatorship" in my opinion, functions much better than the USA's democratically elected government, with Bush at its head, whom everyone has been bitching about and yet they couldn't get rid of him or stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

The port security experts didn't mention any UAE ties to Bin Laden or terrorism because they don't exist, not because they were gushing over luxurious hotels.