If there is one thing I have noticed throughout this whole national debate over a company from the United Arab Emirates acquiring a contract from a British company to manage several of our U.S. ports, it is that there is a colossal lack of knowledge about the whole matter. I do not know whether it is from simple ignorance or misinformation, or just blatant racism and prejudice, but there are a lot of powerful people making unfounded accusations against the Bush Administration for not killing this deal when they had the chance, when in reality there is nothing wrong with it.

Dubai Ports World, a company based in the UAE, recently purchased the British owned Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which operated several terminals throughout six ports in the United States. These ports include Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Huston, and Newark/Elizabeth, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Web site.

Many people are more than a little apprehensive about a country from the Middle East controlling port operations in the United States, but their fears are largely unfounded. First, Dubai Ports World and P&O made an agreement to comply with the security programs to which P&O currently adheres. There will be no policy change in terms of security. In fact, Dubai Ports World will not be handling security at all. Dubai Ports World will be acting as terminal operators at each of these ports. They will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the port terminal, such as general upkeep, the loading, unloading, or transfer of cargo, storage and repair of facilities.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the CBP are the ones directly responsible for security at the ports. The CBP’s mission is “to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States by eliminating potential threats before they arrive at our borders and ports,” according to the CBP Web site. The Coast Guard regularly inspects cargo and makes sure each port facility complies with the rules and regulations set forth by the government.

These are the men and women who are protecting our ports and ensuring our safety. It is not as if the U.S. Government is handing the UAE the keys to our ports and politely asking them to lock up when they leave. As President George W. Bush has said, if there was a threat to national security, this deal would have never gone through.

But that is not good enough for most people. Most people in America no longer take the president’s word at face value. Sometimes they will not even take honest to goodness facts from the president unless some liberal pundit succumbs to rationality and agrees with something the president says. Heaven forbid.

But that is what has happened in this whole debacle. There is no real threat to national security because of this deal. Let me illuminate some realities for you, the poor, tired wretches longing for truth.

The UAE is a strong ally to the United States. It is most certainly our strongest ally in the Middle East and one of our strongest allies in the War on Terror. The UAE hosts more U.S. Navy ships in their ports than any other country in the world, outside the United States of course, according to the U.S. Department of State Web site. Dubai Ports World currently runs one of the main ports in the UAE that harbors U.S. ships. This provides the Navy with a strategic position in the Middle East. It also allows the U.S. Air Force to utilize several of its airfields.

The UAE has frozen many suspected terrorists’ bank accounts in an effort to shut down the global terror finance network. It has enacted new laws against money laundering and provides funding for counter-terrorist operations.

The UAE was also the first Middle East country to join the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which is a multinational agreement to help protect global trade from terrorism, according to the Department of State Web site. The article goes on to say, “Under CSI, a team of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers is permanently stationed inside Dubai's ports, where they work closely with Dubai Customs to screen containers destined for the United States. Cooperation with Dubai officials has been outstanding and a model for other operations.”

The UAE has been a model citizen when it comes to port security and cooperation with national security agents.

Finally, the UAE has been a big supporter of the new Iraqi government. It has provided significant funding to help establish and maintain the government. The UAE has traditionally been a champion of Middle East peace efforts.

From everything I have researched, it seems as though the UAE is one of our greatest allies and most certainly, our greatest ally in the War on Terror. What kind of message does it send when we say to that ally, “We don’t trust you with our ports.” It is a slap in the face, plain and simple.

And just in case you still had any doubts as to the intentions of the UAE, I will leave you with this little tidbit: The UAE donated $100 million to help with the relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They were one of the first nations to donate and they made the largest donation of any country.

Yeah, that doesn’t really sound like the type of people I want managing our ports.