Are neocons behind the outcry against the UAE ports deal? Answers here: [View All]

[Wordie]

This article may expose some of the impetus behind the outcry over the ports deal. (Things are not always what they seem.) Apparently, some leading neocons are deeply opposed to the deal.

DP World Invests in the US
"As I’ve had occasion to note over the past few years, Dubai is home to billions of mullahdollars, and the black market through which all manner of illegal arms shipments and money-being-laundered have passed." Michael Ledeen, AEI

"Critics claim that the UAE recognized the Taliban, and al Qaeda used it in 9/11 preparations. " Peter Brookes Heritage Foundation

"From the very beginning in the 1970s, the UAE has been a key source of financial support for Saudi-controlled organizations like the Islamic Solidarity Fund, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)" Alex Alexiev, CSP

Among Neoconservatives, the debate is no longer whether to scuttle the sale, it's whether disinformation or bigotry will do the best job. Oddly enough, DP World's record of investing in underdeveloped ports from Yemen to Romania has played a vital role in kick-starting moribund economies with desperately needed foreign direct investment. Neocons should hail DP World's role as an example of how to fight terrorism, conflict and desperation through economic development. Instead, pundits from Michael Ledeen to Alex Alexiev have reached into the mud and begun flinging with both hands...

The article then goes on to make the following points, among others:

DP World is working with the US to increase port security. For instance, it has formed a partnership with the US to ensure that the Port of Aden (site of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole), becomes the most secure port in the region.

The UAE was the first Arab country to join the Container Security Initiative of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The program places CBP officers at UAE ports to identify and pre-screen cargo headed for the US.

What are Neocons After?

Neoconservatives are incensed at DP World's move into the US market. Increasing US-Arab trade, slated to grow 27% this year, runs against the vision of turning the region into a "seething cauldron" in the name of a "war on terror".

"One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please. If ever there were a region that richly deserved being cauldronized, it is the Middle East today. If we wage the war effectively, we will bring down the terror regimes in Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and either bring down the Saudi monarchy or force it to abandon its global assembly line to indoctrinate young terrorists. That's our mission in the war against terror." Michael Ledeen

Unfortunately for Leedeen the other singers in the Neocon chorus, DP World offers the region, and the US, an engine of economic and trade growth that simply must be harnessed. No amount of bigotry and fear should be allowed to overturn the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investments well-considered acceptance of DP World.

http://www.irmep.org/dp_world.htm

Personally, I'm still uncertain about the deal. Some of the arguments I've heard on both sides do not persuade me. But it does seem that we need the time to obtain more info in order to fully evaluate the deal. It is in that spirit that I have posted this article.

(Mods please note: this post may appear at first glance to violate the four paragraph rule. However, if you will note, there are only four paragraphs of opinion posted from the article, the rest is comprised of direct quotes, to which copyright concerns would not apply. Thanks. -Wordie)