Sun, Jul 20, 2008
EURweb |
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: The Ear and Voice of the People
(March 23, 2006)
With all due respect to the president, the message sent to our Arab “allies” is precisely the message we should send to them. To whit: In America men may be born to privilege, but they are not born to rule. There is no royal family in America. Here, the people are sovereign.
More than a month ago, President Bush stepped into a political mud puddle when it was revealed that Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates, had purchased the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., a British firm that through a U.S. subsidiary runs port operations in six major East coast cities. The outcry was immediate. Emboldened by the lack of public support during an election year, Democrats seized on the issue and rather than face the wrath of the people in November, Republican legislators quickly joined them. The administration acted quickly to defuse the controversy, even resorting to accusing detractors of xenophobia. Alas, even the administration’s new found political correctness could not turn the tide of public opinion. Following news that a house committee voted overwhelmingly to oppose the plan, DPW announced it would withdraw from the deal. The people spoke.
"In order to win the war on terror we have got to strengthen our friendships and relationships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East…UAE is a valued and strategic partner," the president said during those same remarks to the NNA. "I'm committed to strengthening our relationship with the UAE." The question is: are they committed to strengthening their relationship with us?
The president cannot argue on Monday that our strategy in the war on Islamic fascism – er, uhm, I mean on terrorism -- is to bring democratic ideals to the Middle East and then argue on Tuesday that a nation that has not embraced those ideals – that in fact rejects them -- is our ally in that war. The UAE is ruled by a regime that applies Shari’a law, does not recognize the freedoms of the press, speech, religion or private property, does not allow it’s citizens to vote, is involved in the slave trade, boycotts Israel and as late as 1999 was flying in to Al Qaeda terrorist camps to break bread with Osama Bin Laden. The people have a voice precisely because we understand what is in our best interests and turning our ports over to UAE business interests clearly is not.
Arab business leaders are welcome to take their business elsewhere. The United States represents more than half of the world’s economic market. For all their bluster, there are precious few places for Arab rulers to invest their dollars. Rather than divest, it may behoove them to begin to realize that being an American ally must at some point mean more than simply renting us space to park our battleships. Being a friend to America should ideally mean embracing those values we hold dear – namely respecting the ear and voice of the people.
Joseph C. Phillips is an actor/writer based in Los Angeles. His column appears regularly in several newspapers and he is a regular commentator on News and Notes with Ed Gordon on NPR and has a book due out from Running Press in April. Contact him at: Joseph@josephcphillips.com
Speak Out
Currently, 15 comments have been made on this story.
.JPG)
