Editor,
I am surprised that at UNM, as liberal as it is, a student would write in with such a closed-minded and obviously uneducated view of the United Arab Emirates port deal.
I guess it's not so surprising, though, when you read the newspapers and see that the majority in Congress - including those horrible Republicans - is opposed to the deal as well.
For starters, Bush isn't the lone crusader pushing for this deal. As it turns out, most of the top people in government who know anything about homeland security or maritime business are the only ones who think it is a safe and good decision. It is called being part of a global economy. The rest of the government and the American population that are against it don't know anything about the deal, except that it involves the Bush administration and an Arab country.
Do you think France, Germany, Japan, China or any other country that operates a port in the United States handles security at that port? No.
The security of those ports is handled by the Department of Homeland Security, border patrol and other agencies - U.S. agencies. Please, Daniel Martinez, save the drama - our lives are not at stake any more than normal because of this business transaction.
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The United Arab Emirates is not a country that supports terrorism. You can tie almost any country in the world today to terrorists.
A few of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers went to flight school in the United States, and businesses here have been funneling money to al-Qaida for years. The United States apparently has ties to terrorism - should we stop doing business with ourselves?
Before Sept. 11, security in any country was not especially tight, and no doubt money has made its way into the hands of clever terrorists from every powerful country in the world.
We can't rule out business with a country based on its security standards five years ago, because everywhere the standards weren't what they are today.
Nowadays it seems like anytime the words "Bush," "Arab" or "Republican" are mentioned, everyone has got to complain without really looking into what they are complaining about.
I am not the biggest Bush supporter - he has made mistakes and his administration isn't the most open - but why are we going to ruin relations with a friendly foreign country just because we don't like Bush and we think "Arab" means "terrorist"?
I have spent more than three months in Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates. I felt safer and more welcome there as a Marine than in Australia, Singapore or even Southern California. It is a friendly country that seems to be one of our few allies in the world.
I urgently request all Americans to contact their brains and realize how stupid and racist it is to deny business to a country just because of where it is located and the nationality of its citizens.
Phillip Camp
UNM student
