Apparently I wrote this post twice. I think this version (originally dated 8/29/09) is actually better than the previously published version. Oh, well. Compare and enjoy.
In 2006, the White House approved of the sale of several sea ports to a corporation owned by the United Arab Emirates. The ports were already foreign-owned (owned by a British company). George W. Bush thought the sale was a great idea that would demonstrate that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were not an assault on Islam or Arabs generally. Conservatives opposed the plan, arguing that it would harm national security to have an Arab nation responsible for keeping terrorists out. In my opinion, the opposition was a combination of racism and a mistaken impression that the UAE could not be effective.
On Friday, Aug 28, 2009, UAE forces captured a shipment of weapons of war being distributed from North Korea to Iran in violation of a bunch of international sanctions. Both North Korea and Iran share in common controversial, unilateral experimentation with nuclear material. For these among other reasons, both were listed (alongside Saddam's Iraq) by George W. Bush as "an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world." [1] And now there's a connection, and our allies the UAE, whom we should have trusted, have identified and weakened the link between them.
It was a miserable mistake for us to refuse the UAE port deal. We should treat our allies better. Will the current administration, with it's new-found emphasis on our reputation in the world, address this? We shall see.
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