More opposition to UAE takeover of US port operations :: UAE community blog

Fahad Al Mahmood, posting at UAE community blog, provides a round up including Senator Lindsay Graham's by now widely-quoted statement that the Bush administration is "tone deaf" on the issue of the ports acquisition.

Lindsay is speaking of domestic-politics tone deafness.

Sometimes you have to turn a deaf ear. It can be a useful leadership practice.

Senators Lindsay (R-SC) and Clinton (D-NY), among others, are displaying a truly dangerous tone-deafness.

It will speak volumes to the rest of the world if the US reverses on the ports acquisition.

First, there is the rule of law including the spirit of the rule of law. The acquisition was approved by processes and procedures in place. Those who oppose the outcome want to change the rules and treat different people differently.

Second, this is a vital teaching moment. What are Americans who oppose the acquisition teaching the world? Do you really want to see principles of democracy and free markets spread in the Middle East or not? To quote myself:

This isn't about homeland security; it's about being open to foreign investment. It's about unfettered markets. It's about the American institutions that make the U.S. the economic dynamo of the world. Americans are not especially smart or virtuous compared to other peoples. It's their institutions that make Americans exceptional. Some Arabs come along and want to invest in the U.S., and you want to change the rules so they can't? Nonsense. You're ditching the very principles you're trying to transfer.

For a similar point of view, see this post by Starling Hunter over at Wizbang.

Maybe Starling and I have similar views because we're Americans teaching business to undergraduates in the Middle East. We're part of the enterprise that Lindsay Graham and Hillary Clinton are committed to undercutting.

UPDATE: US Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes spoke with the press in Dubai yesterday:

"Perhaps, it is important to understand that in my country, there's a very open environment for debate and members of the congress are always questioning, debating, discussing. Secretary Rice said the administration would be happy to share with them additional information about the inter-agency security review," Hughes added.

The Under-Secretary also mentioned that the US had long-standing alliance with the UAE and that both governments had been partners in the war against terror. "So I hope the people and the government of the UAE will understand that in a democracy, there is indeed a process of debate," Hughes said.

Yes. And the fact that "discussing, debating, discussing" is part of the process of democracy is an important point to underscore in a region where the virtues of such an open process are seldom enjoyed.