Posted on 03/10/2006 9:18:02 AM PST by Dark Skies
B.S. Arab investors, like any other investor, will invest where they get the best return on their money. Period.
All investors consider risk--and the risk of investing in anything the US might decide to deem "critical" just went up.
I'll take your word for it, but it amazes me how I can go through life as a white guy and never meet any of them.
You'd think they'd try the Nudge-Nudge routine on me occasionally.
Maybe we should warn our allies Canada, Great Britain, Germany and Australia of the security risk they are taking having DPW run their ports....
You know that the problem. There is a proper place for the words "we" and "they". However those words are dangeous when used improperly. We are not suppose to be working for them. In this case the UAE. The UAE has engaged the Western world. The reason they are so successful is unlike in Neighbors they have done it with a gusto. THe UAE entered the World of business and has played by its rules. That is one reason there is such shock there. Infact reading the UAE papers the last few weeks this was a story contained in the business pages and not on the front page. THey now realize the political dynamics to it.
This was one reason why certain Israeli companies spoke up in defense of this deal. That is one reason why there was not alot of getting on bashing the UAE bandwagon from the state of ISrael. They realize that the more the UAE engages the World its better for them and their relations.
So no we dont work for "them" But its also important to remember that "they" dont work for us. Allies dont treat each other like that and certaintly dont view each other in those terms
You probably have. I didn't realize how many bigots there are among Kumeyaay until I'd been out and about in the non-Kumeyaay world for a decade or so, then came home for my grandfather's funeral. I asked my father when all those people became a bunch of narrow-minded a$$holes. He said, "They've always been like that, you just haven't noticed until now."
Okay, I'll take your word for it that the UAE is with the West on this.
I was for the deal anyway.
Those not however may actually constitute the smallest number in recorded history of anything - like furlongs per fortnight.
It's not just the UAE's money -- it's the money from any other foreign investors who now perceive that their existing or potential U.S. holdings could be subject to idiotic, whimsical political grandstanding among the leadership of this country.
This type of process is no more "secure" than shipping it directly to the U.S. on a container ship.
Friend that I would not trust as far as I could throw 'em. Too many of their people support terrorism and I really don't care if the entire UAE economy crashes, since why should be trust a "viper" to be nice to us? There are many better countries that can fill their shoes.
Exactly, shipping is global and they handle our cargo today, if they wanted to attack us VIA the ports they could already do it.
Arab firms may reconsider U.S. investments
I never trust headlines with assertions such as may. Tell me what actually happened.
Gulf investors... will likely be wary...
Investors and businesses... reviewing portfolios... that could spark a similar uproar in Congress...
A short-term backlash could follow...
They may be more disposed to look to Europe or Asia...
This whole article is people talking about other people, without any facts.
Wishful thinking, nothing more.
-PJ
If I were still in the FDI consulting business, I'd advise my clients to not make new investments, and to wind up or sell off their existing ones, because Congress can declare any economic activity "critical" and thus subject to nationalization or forced sale--and they have demonstrated a willingness to do that.
Other non-Muslim countries know they have nothing to worry about.
I'm sure the UAE people themselves know that the objection to the deal was that they are Muslims who actually, until fairly recently, had been harboring our enemies and are probably still channeling money to them. I think Congress acted very stupidly, and I was not particularly opposed to the deal, because I think the sheiks like their gold-plated bathroom fixtures and expensive call-girls enough to want to keep the money coming from legitimate investments of their oil wealth. Still, I don't think it's at all unreasonable for Americans to be particularly concerned about Muslim countries becoming involved in what people perceived as a sensitive area of our infrastructure. Remember, this was a state-run company, on top of it all.
We are not the aggressors. While the UAE may have been behaving itself very politely for the last few years, their environment and their ideology, Islam, is the source of virtually all aggression in the world right now. I honestly don't see why they should be offended to think that we might want more assurances and a more careful review, which was, of course, short-circuited by Congress for purely political and not security reasons.
And they probably appreciate investing in countries with a stable government and a productive economy? Seems definitely plausible.
The only problem with your argument is that although we might be addicted to oil, but we also have plenty of it to dig up. Regulations can be changed in a second.
On the other hand, maybe we might start being respected by the governments of these foreign investors who might realize that being aligned with America's enemies has consequences.
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