American Foreign Interests over Politics Please

There is very little of substance behind the impending port deal with a government run firm from the United Arab Emirates beyond bipartisan and baseless hysteria and political posturing. On the matter of port security the sale will change virtually nothing. The U.A.E. firm will run commercial operations while the Department of Homeland Security will continue to oversee security and inspections, just as it always has.

Moreover, that a company from an Islamic country should not be able to run the commercial operations of various American ports is an amplified version of the type of racial and ethnic profiling Democrats usually condemn. In a Friday column Charles Krauthammer spoke of the fact that the same Democrats who object to this port deal would cry injustice if "a citizen of the U.A.E. walked into an airport in full burnoose and flowing robes, speaking only Arabic" and was given "any more scrutiny than....my sweet 84-year-old mother." The hypocrisy is evident and obvious.

In that same column Mr. Krauthammer provided the only legitimate security concern associated with the deal’s consummation raised so far; the possibility that al-Qaeda sympathizers or agents within the company might, through the obvious cooperation and consultation that will have to take place between the U.A.E. company and D.H.S., become aware of sensitive port security information and share it with al-Qaeda members stationed either overseas or, possibly, in America.

This possibility is not motivating congressional opposition to the deal however; a desire to either, depending on what side of the aisle they are on, outflank the president on national security or establish their independence from him is.

But political motivations should not derail a deal when such an outcome could damage the diplomatic relationship with a country providing valuable assistance in the execution of the war on terror. The president is right to support the deal and would be right in vetoing any legislation which would invalidate it.

Hat Tip: OpinionJournal