I think ^(link) therefore I err

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Ports again,and again

This is the link to today's press briefing by Scott McClellen.

So I have to say, thank you Mr. President. Seriously, I want to trust you, so having you admit that this whole thing could have been communicated better is a great first step.

There are a ton of good points on both sides. Since you are running things, I'll go with your plan even though I suspect this hasn't been looked at as closely as you claim it has. CFIUS basically ok's everything, and you didn't know about this until just a day or two ago, but I digress.

One question though:
Scott said this:
MR. McCLELLAN: The President doesn't view it as a political issue. The President views it as the right principle and the right policy. We should not be holding a country from the Middle East or a company from the Middle East to a different standard from a company from Great Britain. And the President believes very strongly that all these issues were addressed during the review process. That's why he checked with his Cabinet Secretaries -- all the national security issues. We shouldn't -- so it's a matter of principle. It's a principled position that the President is taking.

Nice, right?
Well, then why did he also say this:
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's not just that. I mean, there's proprietary information, as well. And I think that what we're working to do is make sure that we can provide as much information as possible about this transaction. Because, as I pointed out, one thing that is key is that this company agreed to additional security measures that they would take beyond what some others do in transactions like this. And I pointed out what those are.

Why are they saying this company from Dubai has to agree to "additional" security measures, if the whole principle of the thing is that we're all equal to the same standard?

Karl Rove today equated the UAE with Pakistan (allywise) but I'm not sure we'd all be comfortable with Pakistanis running our ports. Or Saudi Arabia. Yet both are good allies. Certainly on paper anyway. What would stop them from owning something so important as our ports? Money? Ability? In any business you have to look long term. This one deal may be ok for today, but try to look long term and see what you think. yeah, yeah, China manages ports too, but I'm not so comfortable with that either. Especially since they seem to be infiltrating this country already.

Nevermind, I said I'd trust you Mr. President, now to let the lingering doubts fade. I have no expertise, just guts. (not as in strength and fortitude but as in 'gut reaction'.) I understand there will be a briefing tomorrow. Answer the question above and I'll be quiet even though, many, many people I respect still aren't going for it.

UPDATE for "Those Ports", go here. For "Ports again", go here.