He's wrong. There's nothing racist or phobic about the reaction to the port buyout. When the average American discovers that two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the Emirates, his antennae go way, way up...as they should. It's the administration's fault for not explaining the deal to America, also explaining how important our relationship with the Emirates is, how they've helped us in the fight against terrorism...at considerable danger to themselves. Really stupid of the Bush administration.
Not to mention recent polls that 86% of the people in the UAE strongly dislike the US.
For this, we're going to let them into our port system?
Islamophobia would mean an irrational fear, our fears are quite rational and based on fact.
So are we supposed to reject any dealings with a country because two of it's citizens were murderous thugs? Sorry I don't buy it, we have our own share of homegrown murderous thugs; one of them blew up the Murrah building. Some people are just evil, and they are all over the world.
There's nothing wrong with being careful and taking time to check into the deal, but it's wrong to reject it simply because the company headquarters is in a Muslim country. BTW, is the UAE run by radical Imams, or by a government that is more secular in nature?
If we don't want these kinds of deals, then we are going to have to overhaul a lot of the way we do things, and that won't happen overnight. In the meantime, what realistic alternative is there, other than to let the sale go through?
Sure it would be nice if we could just isolate ourselves from the entire Arab world, but it isn't realistic. We have to play the hand we've been dealt.
Unfortunately, they are hopelessly mired in an attitude that all they need to do is say "TRUST ME" and the peasants should just shut up and sit down.
At best, that's a weak argument, usually from those who lack thinking skills.
That's like saying Richard Reid (the shoebomber) came from England and we should cut ties with England because of who Richard Reid was and where he come from.