As I wrote earlier, in a different time under different circumstances, this port deal would have been a good thing for the global economy.
Dubai is a rapidly developing Arab nation that desperately wants to be part of the 21st century with all its amenities. Check out this time lapsed picture.
The sand fleas don't stand a chance.
quick call green peace!
Victor Davis Hanson has his last words on this port postmortem.
...But more importantly, the Dubai port deal shows how at odds are American perceptions and reality. For the last half-century, we have been living in a complex interconnected world of mutual reliance. Soon we will import more food than we grow. We already burn more oil than we pump. For years we have bought more than we export, and we borrow far more than we lend. To justify these precarious dependencies, America assures foreign business leaders, investors and lenders that our markets remain open and immune to the distortions of xenophobia and provincialism.
Americans may not like that devil's bargain, but it was made long ago and, for better or worse, we are long past being an agrarian republic. The resulting singular affluence of the American consumer derives from just these tradeoffs in our autonomy — and the trust we receive from those who loan and sell us things we cannot immediately pay for. So rejecting the Dubai port deal is not only hypocritical, but in the end dumb.
For once, I don't agree with him. Making these cozy alliances with Muslim/Arab nations even more cozy is not wise under the current precarious circumstances. I think the situation with our west coast docks under communist Chinese management deserves another look too. Can you say Taiwan?
And instead of a southern wall, can we just annex Mexico?
