Dubai Ports Deal

     I found a great article about the ports affair. Unfortunately, it’s a Wall Street Journal article and you can’t view it unless you subscribe. But I can quote it.
     The article, entitled “Port Deal: Not a Foreign Idea,” it begins by stating, “Amid the political firestorm surrounding Dubai Ports World, one fact is often lost -- foreign companies already manage most of the terminals at American ports, the result of a longtime dominance of global shipping lines that often run the facilities that handle their cargoes.” I have read quotes by representatives saying that the ports need to stay in American hands. It’s a nice sentiment, but here’s the problem: according to this article, “more than 60% of the container terminals at the nation's 10 busiest ports are at least partly managed by foreign operators, and in some cases, companies controlled by foreign governments.” Our ports are already in the hands of foreign companies. Those ports that were going to be controlled by Dubai weren’t under American control in the first place. They were under British control.
     That in itself is a little scary, considering the amount of shipping that comes through our ports. Thankfully, the article goes on to say, “security -- such as the inspection of containers -- is conducted by federal enforcement agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection no matter who operates the terminal.” Besides reassuring us that our ports can still remain relatively secure, this fact also negates the argument that Dubai’s ownership of the ports threatens our security. If this company does not control the security of the port, then no threat to our security exists.
     So what’s the problem? I see it as two-fold. First, Congress is simply uninformed or the people who might re-elect them this November are, putting pressure on Congress to make an unwise, but popular move. Second, sheer racism. People see that Dubai is an Arab company and don’t look any farther. It’s Arab, so it’s linked to terrorism and it’s a threat to the nation. They ignore the fact that it is an international company, accountable to customers all over the world. They ignore the fact that it is based in a nation that is a strong ally to the U.S. They don’t bother to look and see if the company has any real links to terrorism. They just assume there must be links because the company is Arab. It’s just like the old image in the south that all black men are eager to rape white women because one or two may have done so sometime in the past.
The racism is there and it is something we must root out and destroy. Racism tore this country apart in the past and it may again, if we let it spread. We cannot discriminate against a company just because it is Arab, just as we cannot discriminate against an individual because he is Arab. If I had heard any good solid arguments of exactly how Dubai could be a threat, I would support the fight against the port deal. I have hear absolutely no valid arguments, though; just outright racism.
Please, let’s fight this. America has come to far to sink to that level again.

     Of course, all of this is moot. Dubai announced today that it will hand the ports to an “American entity.” Racism wins, for the moment. But lets learn from this moment and not repeat the mistake. We lost an opportunity to show that we do not hate Arabs as a whole, just those who support terrorism.