Bush outsources port security to UAE

I don't know how I missed this but Stone Soup has been all over this story, since yesterday. Political appointees of the Bush administration have agreed to outsource our already lame port security to an United Arab Emirates corporation. Yest, that would be the same UAE, as the FBI concluded, was "an important operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against New York and Washington."

NY Sen. Schumer correctly calls for "a full and public review before this company is allowed to control security up and down the East Coast." Meanwhile, the ultraright Washington Times posts a scathing editorial, finding this decision is all about money, and nothing about national security, a point bolstered by the fine research work of The Cunning Realist, who follows the money straight to John Snow, chair of the from the rubberstamping Committee that approved this deal. Corrupt corporate cronyism at its finest hour, folks. The Times gets it right.

President Bush should overrule the committee to reject this deal. If that doesn't happen, Congress should take action. The country's ports should not be owned by foreign governments; much less governments whose territories are favored by al Qaeda.

Bush is unlikely to do that of course. I'm telling you, such breathtaking, underhanded arrogance is a sure sign he's either going to suspend elections and declare martial law or at the very least believes they have the electronic voting machines "fixed" to the point where the GOP doesn't have to worry about losing at the polls.

As for any right wingers that may happen to wander in here, how do you reconcile the administration's handholding with the Arabs here, with your hatred of all things Muslim on account of the cartoon jihad?