UAE’s support for terrorists; also, what if UAE goes democratic?

Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen (not Paul Vallely as incorrectly indicated at FrontPage) catalogue the United Arab Emirates’ long record of granting financial subsidies to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers and financial, and ideological support for Hamas.

President Bush’s supporters point out that the UAE plays a major role in getting supplies to our troops in Iraq. Ok, but that’s a necessity of war, and on the other side of the world. That’s not our homeland. There is no way that Bush, leader in a “war against terrorism,” is going to get away with putting in charge of U.S. port terminals a country that is an active supporter of terror murder. This looks like Harrier Miers redux.

A reader writes:

The biggest reason for denying the ports deal to a UAE company is the possibility of the spread of democracy to the UAE. I’m not talking about the pseudo-democracy of royalty that they have now, but real democracy where jihadists would undoubtedly emerge triumphant. The administration’s selling point on this deal is that the UAE is a stable ally in the war on terror, which is to say that it is not a truly democratic Muslim country. How ironic that Bush’s foreign policy is what imperils us most should this contract go to a UAE company.

LA replies:

That’s really perceptive, and funny. Why am I not laughing?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 23, 2006 10:47 PM | Send