Dubai, Congress' Mistake

Well, the Dubai terminal deal is kaput. Congress threw a hissy fit and the DPW people decided that it would be best if they withdrew. I hadn't made any comments until now because I was willing to wait for information about DPW, port operations and port security. I was apprehensive at first about the deal but as I gathered more information I was willing for DPW to run the terminal(not the port as most people report). Spurning DPW might have some long term economic and foreign policy ramification, but it certainly did not make our ports any safer.

Unlike me, Congress went nuclear without even bothering with data. I understand Democrats trying to appear as if they're concerned about national security unloading their guns, but Republicans?

It appears that Republicans were more concerned with politics and protecting their backsides. They saw how the polls were going , how it appeared that the Democrats were getting some footing on the Republican's top issue and they freaked. They made decisions base on the emotions of the issue instead of the facts. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!

Congress' actions were disgraceful but the Bush administration deserves a great share of the blame for the way the deal blew up and got out of hand. He should have been out there explaining the deal, how port operations run, who DPW was and what they were doing for us. The Bush administration needs to revamp their PR philosophy.

It's interesting to note that some are already saying that Congress had made a mistake.

From Real Clear Politics

One more note from McCain's speech last night. Among the "straight talk" he offered to the delegates was the view that killing the Dubai ports deal was a mistake. McCain talked about depth of our relationship with the UAE, especially with regard to how much logistical assistance our Navy receives from Dubai, and how it was harmful to America's effort to win the war for the hearts and minds of the Arab people around the world. He said he felt the decision to kill the deal was premature and not handled particularly well by Congress: "The president deserved better," McCain said to a smattering of applause