Dubai Ports World bailed on the deal to take over U.S. ports, allowing the Bush administration to save face with Congress. This debate has been heated as Republicans in Congress gres some cahoneys and elected to fight back on this issue.

A couple of thoughts. One, the reason the Republicans fought so hard on this was that it was an issue the general public could understand: "Arabs are gonna run American ports." It's not terribly complicated. I tend to agree with one assessment I saw over at HuffPo though and that was this deal was a strategic issue for the U.S. not in our own ports of call but in the UAE.

The U.S. is going to leave Iraq via the Tehran highway, no question. Cheney has already said this week that Iran wouldn't be allowed to have nuclear weapons. It's quite probably Israel might get in on the fight and there's been some speculation about the use of tactical nukes. Not pretty. UAE could provide a base point on the other side of the Straits of Hormuz. Iran has said that if war occurs, they'll shut down traffic for the Persian Gulf. That could present problems for oil as Saudi alone cranks about 1/4 of the world's oil supply. Methinks Russia isn't in a position to pick up the slack nor would they have the will.

The other thing I see is just how vulnerable Bush really is to lame duck status, which seems a bit early. With midterm elections coming up and Bush's numbers in the shitter, Republican candidates have to separate themselves from him just a bit. In Kentucky, they still like Bush... much of the rest of the country wouldn't trust further than they could throw him.

Technorati Tags: Dubai, Dubai PW, Bush, Republicans, Homeland Security, Dick Cheney, Iran, UAE

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:47 PM
 
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