Three blind mice. George, John, and Michael. See how they run.
George is, of course, George W, and he tells us constantly that he’s always on the alert to make America secure from foreign terrorists. But, whoa – he then okays a $6.8 billion deal to let a government-owned company from the United Arab Emirates take over the operation of six major U.S. ports! Holy Osama, shrieked George’s Republican allies, the UAE was a financial and operational base for the 9/11 crashbombers! Our ports are terribly vulnerable to terrorists as it is, but putting the UAE in charge is madness. But George bristled, saying he’ll veto any congressional effort to stop it.
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Then came John – treasury secretary John Snow. Failure to complete this deal, he cried, would “tell the world that investments in the United States from certain parts of the world aren’t welcome. That sends a terrible message.” No it doesn’t, John. It sends an honest and strong homeland security message.
Next, Michael came running out to embrace the deal – Michael Chertoff, the homeland security czar. His sole job is to defend America, but suddenly he went all wobbly on us: “We have to balance the paramount urgency of security against the fact that we still want to have a robust global trading system,” he proclaimed.
Ah ha! While the Bushites like to talk tough and fly the flag of national security, their foremost loyalty is to the flag of global corporate power. It’s received little coverage, but the UAE now ranks behind only Saudi Arabia and Israel as corporate America’s top trading partner in the Middle East. Also, for two years, the Bushites have quietly been negotiating a corporate-backed “free trade” deal with this oil monarchy. They don’t want anything to squirrel these corporate ties – even if it requires giving the emirs control of six of our ports.
This is Jim Hightower saying… For Bush & Company, money even trumps national security.
Sources:
“Bush: Arab Co. Port Deal Should Proceed,” Associated Press, February 21, 2006.
“Bush Unaware of Ports Deal Before Approval,” Associated Press, February 22, 2006.
“The Dirty Little Secret Behind the UAE Security Port Scandals,” www. workingforchange.com, February 22, 2006.
“Truth about UAE Security Scandal Quietly Leaks Out,” www.huffingtonpost.com, February 22, 2006.
“Breaking News Update: Bush shrugs off objections to port deal,” Daily News Washington Bureau, February 21, 2006.
“Port Issue Focuses on Security, Public Relations,” The Loft, February 22, 2006.
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