A Word on Ports

Personally, I'm not too worried about the security implications of certain ports being operated by a company owned by the Dubai government. Reneging on the deal might be more dangerous; doing so would provide additional evidence to those who are already convinced that the United States has an anti-Arab or anti-Muslim foreign policy.

Still, the United Arab Emirates has a questionable record on human rights, was home to two of the 9/11 hijackers, may be harboring terrorists, and is not exactly the model of democracy that we supposedly want to take root in the Arab world. Why is the administration so friendly with the UAE? I don't know, and therein lies the problem: To the average American, the criteria the administration uses to determine whether a nation is an enemy or an ally is very fuzzy.