Having a Dubai firm run our ports is not less foreign or dangerous that having a London firm run out ports. The objection to Dubai Ports World was entirely that the ultimate owners were Arabs who wore Arab dress. That is racism.
If we don't distinguish between good Arabs and bad Arabs (and the thousand shades of indifferent Arabs), we will make our relations with all Arabs worse. This will come back to bite us right away.
For example, Mohammed Taheriazar, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student who tried to run over a group of fellow students did so because all Americans are enemies of Allah. We think he is deranged because he does not distinguish between Americans who are enemies of whichever terrorist faction he identifies with, and ordinary beer-swilling American students who had not given his cause a second thought.
If we are really interested in peace around the world, we should be looking for people in every country and nationality who we can work with. When every nation knows some "good Americans" and we know some "good (fill in the people)" in every nation, the world will be safer and more stable.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
A very good American was just tortured and shot in the head over there, and they are still holding another good American - a gentle journalist who loves their country - hostage. Some Dubai Ports Executive could have a Mohammed Taherizar or even a Mohammed Attah for a son-in-law, just as the respectable bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia happened to have Osama. I want to see our ports run by us because the truth is that we cannot distinguish at this point in time between Arabs who are our friends and Arabs who want to blow us all up.
Does having our ports run by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company count as our ports being run by "us?"
Is Iraq "over there" the same as Iran "over there" the same as Dubai "over there?" How about Kuwait? Qatar? Pakistan?
A black man was dragged to death in Texas, by white Texans. Should we not trust any white Texans? Bar them from going near the White House?
This is obviously something that reasonable people can disagree about. I would just point out that your final example, as phrased, suggests to me that you think I'm really dumb. I'm outta here.
I don't think you are dumb. I think saying we should discriminate against millions of people because "we cannot distinguish at this point in time between [fill in the blanks] who are our friends and [fill in the blanks] who want to blow us all up" is unjust.
Post a Comment