From the King Of Blogging, Sean Conners. Various articles and op/ed's on just about anything from A to Z. Politics, religion, entertainment and whatever else seems interesting at the moment. Members and non-members alike are welcomed to participate in th
Last week, I listened in as President Bush rushed out to inform the press and public that his Dubai deal was just dandy and we should once again trust him. Later we learned that Bush had just become aware of the Deal himself and was as uninformed on the details as you or I. We were told that there was no security threat and we should just go about our business.

This got me thinking. "What ever happened to "they just have to be right once. We have to be right all the time.?"" How can anyone look at this deal and say there is no security threat? And it is irrelevant on who is running the actual security show. Whether it be the Coast Guard (who questioned the deal themselves) , the pinkerton guards or the keystone cops. As anyone who's ever needed to get anything in a hotel room that was, say "off the menu", you wouldn't go to the hotel manager, or the security guards. You would go to the bellman, the valet, or one of the "workin stiffs." Why? Because those are the people who can make things happen, who are connected and who make their real living off of "taking care of things."

So I could care less who is running the show. I know as someone who has spent some time in the counterculture how things really work, despite what the "suits" wanna believe. Remember how many things you got away with in school? The teachers always thought they knew everything, but they didn't. Let's stop kidding ourselves.

Furthermore, I got to thinking. What if it was President Gore or President Kerry making this deal? How hard would they be getting pounded? I think it's safe to say that the word "impeach" would be rolling off more than a conservative's tongue. Of course, those red stater's probably wouldn't have made it this long without bringing charges. I would imagine the NSA spy case would have drawn the same fire, as would leaking classified information for political gain. How bout being dead wrong on just about everything in Iraq? Abu Girab would have brought out the human rights activist in even Tom DeLay. I wouldn't be surprised if Jack Abramoff would have been lobbying for the prisoners....maybe even "pro-bono." Nah......lol

But back to the point. This dubai deal is just not smart. It only takes one guy to flip. And with all of the fortunes in the middle east just waiting to be used for bribery, I don't imagine it would be that hard. Its easy to find guys who are big time in debt, or addcted to drugs, gambling, sex or other vice on any street in america. Does anyone think our dock workers are immune from such shortcomings?

Let's suppose that the deal went through. And let's assume that absolutely no arab workers would ever set foot on those docks. That won't be the case, but for this scenario, let's say it is. The arab company and UAE goverment (who owns the company) would now have access to all the layouts, scheduling, and tendencies of each and every one of those ports. Even though we say searches are random, any good statistician or psychologist knows most "random" events are not. And i'm guessin there are a few math and psych wizzes over there too.

Also, they would know all the names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal info on americans and other people working in and around these sensitive areas. If not officially, i'm guessin Al Queda has a few computer hackers in their ranks as well. So now they would know the "lay of the land" ( the joint would be cased) and they would be able to get to people who weren't neccesarily terrorists to ensure the delivery of the packges they so desperately want to detonate on our soil( the fix is in). And as we all know, the bribed or flipped indidual, or individuals wouldn't necessarily know they were aiding terrorists. A junkie could be bribed on the premise of a shipment of drugs coming in. Patsies are rarely aware of the bigger picture.

Possible? I think so. Probable? Who knows. But if I can think it up, so can they. And they've probably been thinking much longer and harder than I have.


Comments (Page 1)
2 Pages1 2 
on Mar 01, 2006

If indeed DP was controlling the 6 ports, you might have a case.  But has been learned by the calm rational heads that looked beyond the hysteria to find out what exactly this deal was all about, managing a few terminals is not managing a port.  And even the informaation on the workers can be had easy enough by anyone seeking to disrupt commerce in these ports.

What it all boils down to is that a bunch of pencil necks blew a cork over something that is really a non-issue.  So much so that even today, most people dont know that it is not the management of 6 ports, but the management of 9 terminals in 6 ports that a management company (and management companies do not staff, they manage - they farm out staffing) wants to manage.

on Mar 01, 2006
what i'm saying is that is about the access to information,,,intelligence...that they will have access too. And i'm not sure i want a country (keep that in mind, it is an arab country, not a private company) that recognized the taliban pre 9/11, most of the money to finance most of the terror operations of the last 20 years or so, and had 2 of the 19 from there. those things didn't happen out of a love of the US, and even tho they have been "playing ball" since 9/11, i'm sure there are "sleeper cells" and sympathizers abound in that country, in the company and still in the govt. that made those policies and whatnot... and it is naive to think differently, in my humble opinion.

thank you for your feedback guy:)
on Mar 01, 2006
in some respects this comes off as a bribe or incentive to Dubai for their post 9/11 support. i have no problem with incentives, but this is a lil too much of one for my comfort.

in the end of this, i hope this deal is rejected and we actually get serious about port security.
on Mar 01, 2006
How can anyone look at this deal and say there is no security threat?


Rationally, that's how. Sorry, Sean, but there is no reason to fear this deal, other than unfocused paranoid hysteria or political opportunism - your choice.

However, I will accept rejection of this deal, provided we single out every Arab-appearing male or burka'd female at every airport security checkpoint for extra security screening, continue to monitor (secretly or otherwise) the communications of potential terrorists with American citizens situated within the United States and clamp down totally on illegal immigration through our porous borders. If this deal is such a horrible security risk, the left better get in line on all the other security measures they've been objecting to.

This deal has been pounced on by administration opponents not for it's security aspects but for it's political opportunities (even Republicans). Even one of NPR's correspondents on national security said just last week, somewhat paraphrased, "Never in my memory have the facts of an issue been so far removed from the public debate."
on Mar 01, 2006
as i stated in my last reply "(i hope) we actually get serious about port security." i believe this deal is representative of our lack of seriousness on the issue.

as far as political opportunism goes,,,,i don't think so. but that charge is easy to throw....from any side to any other side.

as far as a wholesale acceptance of your suggestions....i still look at things on a case by case basis.

and as far as this being rational in our "post 9/11" world, that to me sounds like politics and an unwavering defense of the administration regardless of the facts or possibilities.

if this were president gore, kerry or clinton trying to pull this fast one, i would still be on their case over it,,,and i bet so would you. i would do it because of a principle, you because of politics.
on Mar 01, 2006
I repeat:
"Never in my memory have the facts of an issue been so far removed from the public debate."
on Mar 01, 2006
Paranoia is ugly when it focuses on people of a given ethnicity. The UAE is a multicultural nation just like our own where over half the population come from other places. Germany, England and many other 'allies' have active terror cells that could facilitate the same things mentioned here.

This kind of blindness just makes terrorism easier, frankly. It's a politically motivated distraction from the fact that this kind of thing has never happened. People don't need to spend billions of dollars buying companies to ship in a bomb that could be facilitated by a couple of airport workers and a private jet.

Empty, xenophobic rhetoric intended to stir people up on election year, much like the recent resurgence of interest in abu garaib and such. Such shows political desperation, in my opinion.
on Mar 01, 2006
i guess we see the facts differently. maybe because of perspective, maybe because of experience. but nonetheless, obviously we do.

thank you for your feedback daiwa:)
on Mar 01, 2006
just because there are other "holes" in the world doesn't justisfy creating more in my opinion.
on Mar 01, 2006
" just because there are other "holes" in the world doesn't justisfy creating more in my opinion."


But how would it look to put security lights on the side of your house bordering Middle Eastern neighbors, while you leave the windows open on the side with white neighbors? How does it look to allow a nation like Britian, with an active terror element, to control the ports while you point fingers at the UAE?

If you want to snub an ally and smear us further in the minds of moderate Middle Easterners on a bet that terrorists will do the last thing in the world they ought to do, well... it doesn't sound like you are really motivated by terror concerns. It sounds more like store owners that follow their minority customers around while white teens steal them blind...
on Mar 01, 2006
baker,,,bad analogy,,,and i don't appreciate the left handed racist remarks ....nuff said,,,have a nice day:)
on Mar 01, 2006
Eh, huh? It's totally accurate. You feel that a Middle Eastern country is more suspect than a European country, so much so that it would be worth it to you to openly offend them and treat them as such. Europe is filled to the brim with angry Muslims, as are the Pacific nations. Any of the scenarios you envision could happen just as easily with any of them, but you don't toss a fit until the UAE is the object of the discussion.

If it bothers you, maybe there is a reason. It annoys me that Democrats like Al Gore are in Saudi Arabia insulting the US for making it hard for people from terrorist states to get Visas, while at the same time they are in Washington saying an ally in the Middle East is too suspect to have equal business footing in the US.

Take it how you like, it is bigoted to me.
on Mar 01, 2006
i want no foreign nation running our erminals or our ports. thatis not racist. i never once implied any preference because i have none.

again,,,bad analogy as you assumed facts not in evidence, and simply wrong.
on Mar 01, 2006
Sean, that position also assumes facts not in evidence - that one or more US companies exist which have the resources to take over operation of all our port facilities. Just ain't so.
on Mar 01, 2006
"i want no foreign nation running our erminals or our ports. thatis not racist. i never once implied any preference because i have none.

again,,,bad analogy as you assumed facts not in evidence, and simply wrong."


No, backpeddling doesn't help when you use the word 'arab' more than once in talking about the threats involved. Perhaps you didn't express your opinion adequately, or perhaps now you are trying to moderate it. Your use of the word "they" isn't really referring to "non-Americans", and anyone who reads the last two or three paragraphs can see it.

If you want to be xenophobic and restrict free trade, fine. Perhaps you should write a blog that states what you really mean instead of the thinly veiled fear mongering above. The problem with views like yours is they are a perfect distraction. While you are following your suspect around the store, someone else is planning to stab you in the back, and you are too distracted to know.
2 Pages1 2