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Dec. 3, 2008
Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning
Don Terry: Lifetime, no see
Dec. 2, 2008
Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world
Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack
Dec. 1, 2008
Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings
Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?
Nov. 28, 2008
Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be
Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?
Nov. 26, 2008
Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership
Andrea Simantov:
Shades of life
Nov. 25, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence
The Kosher Gourmet
by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!
Nov. 24, 2008
Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'
Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends
Nov. 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
Nov. 20, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
The Kosher Gourmet
By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 24, 2006
/ 26 Shevat, 5766
Just because you're Islamophobic doesn't mean you're wrong
By
Kathleen Parker
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
That distant thunder you hear is the sound of thousands of harrumphing
pundits and politicians clearing their throats.
"Ah, what we really meant to say was that we love all G-d's people,
but we'd really rather not have Middle Easterners managing our ports. If
it's not too much trouble."
But trouble it is to admit what's really got Americans in high dudgeon over
the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. ports to the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). It's not just the sale itself, but the Bush
administration's apparent lack of respect toward American citizens
concerning a business deal that at least seems
untimely and counterintuitive.
As I inadvertently failed to mention in an earlier column on the subject,
the ports in question already were managed by a British company, which is
selling the operational rights to Dubai Ports World with American approval.
As I've now written in countless e-mails, "Some foreign companies are more
foreign than others."
Great Britain, though home to the infamous shoe bomber, is nonetheless a
blood brother in the war against terror. The UAE is now being lauded as
helpful in that global fight, but its history relative to terrorism is
problematic. The emirates joined Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in recognizing
the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan. The UAE also was a
transfer point for shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and
Libya.
Given that history, it's hard to pretend that there's no reason whatsoever
for concerns about Dubai Ports, a government-owned company, managing U.S.
ports.
In the several days since the pending sale was announced amid much Sturm und
Drang, new facts have surfaced that ultimately may convince Americans that
the sale won't threaten national security. The ports will continue to be
protected as they have been by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs
Service, for instance. And American workers will continue to comprise the
bulk of the ports' workforce.
Other justifications for the sale appear to be reasonable — not least that
Dubai Ports World is reputedly competent at managing ports — and might be
convincing if only someone bearing the title President of the United States
would articulate those reasons in a spirit of respect rather than as a
dismissive parent managing an impudent child.
We're at war, remember? We're fighting terror. We're staying the course and
holding fast. You're either with us or against us. Americans got all that
and the part about taking down Saddam Hussein in case he had weapons of mass
destruction. They also got the part about planting seeds of democracy in
hopes of changing hearts and minds that are stalled in the 12th century.
Check.
At the same time, Americans have gamely tolerated interminable airport lines
as old ladies got frisked and terrorist look-alikes strolled through
magnetometers. They're mostly cool, in other words. But they're also
watching the news and seeing a world gone mad over a few political cartoons
and wondering whether it's such a good idea to increase even administrative
traffic between "over there" and here.
These are not the xenophobic ravings of a fevered populace. Rather, they are
a few reasonable questions, to which President George W. Bush replied: "I
want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden
a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great
British (sic) company."
Not to be a smart aleck or anything, but does "Duh" work for anyone?
The implication that Americans, including a fair number of Republican
leaders, are reacting negatively to the sale out of racist attitudes or
Islamophobia is, well, probably true, which is not the same as insane. No
nation on Earth is more welcoming or inclusive of others than the United
States, which presumably is why people keep mobbing our borders. But
Americans are also not simpletons.
When 19 men of Middle Eastern descent hijack airplanes and murder thousands
on U.S. soil, reasonable, fair-minded people are not going to pretend not to
notice that the perpetrators are all Middle Eastern men of a certain
complexion. That's not racist, though it may be racially aware. It's not
Islamophobic, though a little phobia isn't always inappropriate. I'm
cautious around snakes even though many are non-poisonous.
The Bush administration could have defused much of the controversy now
swirling had officials clearly explained the practical (business) value of
allowing the sale to go through, as well as the larger purpose of
demonstrating open-minded goodwill toward allies. Instead, as is too often
the case, Bush effectively said, "Trust us. We're in charge; we're on top of
this; we'll take care of it."
In these dangerous times, Americans deserve more than a pat on the head. So
do Republican incumbents whose midterm elections may be at greater risk than
our ports.
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Kathleen Parker Archives
© 2005, Tribune Media Services
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