You And What Army?
by digby
I might be crazy but I think that Charles Krauthamer and Fred Barnes just implied that if we suffer another terrorist attack it will be because Bush was not allowed to reward our good friends the UAE with the port deal. Apparently if we don't play ball with our "allies" they'll be forced to do something nasty. It looks like the Bush Doctrine has undergone a little tweaking. The US is now paying off middle eastern countries so they won't help terrorists attack us. It's probably a better approach that "yer either with us or agin' us" thing. Paying off blackmailers directly is a lot cheaper than a war. In fact, it's a lot like the K Street project.
I wonder how the Republican base feels about that?
Meanwhile, Charles, Fred and Mort Kondrake agree that the UN is even more useless than it was before we went into Iraq and we won't be able to move into Iran for at least a year. We must once again unleash our mighty sword and remind some people of the military might of the United States (and Israel.) To hell with the Chinese and the Russians!
Looks like the Beltway Boys are getting ready to hitch up their codpieces and yippie yie yo kie yay, mothafuckahs. Just as soon as they remove their make-up.
Update:
Nice little country you've got there. Be a shame is something happened to it:
TODD (voice over): A warning of possible fallout from the port fight.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think we've missed a opportunity.
TODD: CNN national security adviser John McLaughlin, a former deputy CIA director, says American politicians focused too much on the UAE's pre-9/11 terrorist ties and undervalued the Emirates' role since September 11 in catching terrorists, cracking down on weapons trafficking and money laundering.
Now...
MCLAUGHLIN: I think the UAE will continue to be a good intelligence partner, but there's a risk here, a chance that they will lose a lot of their enthusiasm for cooperating as closely with us as they have in the past.
TODD: Militarily, U.S. officials consistently hit home one point: the Emirates, specifically their port facilities in Dubai, are critical to U.S. operations in Iraq an Afghanistan. CAPT. THOMAS GOODWIN, U.S. NAVY: On a daily basis there is at least one U.S. ship in a port in the UAE, and oftentimes more than that.
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: And as you look to potential problems in the future in that region, the United Arab Emirates' location and capacity will be critical to our ability to succeed.
TODD: Now one former U.S. defense secretary tells CNN the ruling family may not kick American ships out of port, but may, in his words, "rethink their level of participation."
In business, the UAE is a huge American partner. Emirates Airline has placed a multibillion-dollar order for Boeing jets, but also buys planes from European-based Airbus.
Now...
RICHARD ABOULAFIA, TEAL GROUP: It's easy to see a scenario where this poisons commercial relations between the Emirates and the U.S., and that could directly impact Boeing's prospects to sell aircraft to the Emirates.
.