Friday, April 07, 2006
DP World Ports Purchase letter
DP World Ports Purchase letter
e-mailed Saturday, March 4th, 2006 (similar versions to Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Dick Burr)
Dear Senator Elizabeth Dole,
Please do not get swept up in xenophobia surrounding the Dubai port deal. As yet the objections to this deal are nothing more than vicious racial profiling. To suggest America cannot do business with a country on the basis of their ethnicity runs contrary to the founding principles of our nation.
I do not unilaterally object to a further review of the deal, but we cannot and should not send a simple message that "Americans can't trust Arabs or Muslims." It is untrue and un-American. Not to mention, unsupported by the realities of the status quo. Saudi Arabia, country of origin for many of the 9/11 hijackers, not only does a huge commodities business with America, read:oil, but they also own port terminals in the United States, already. There is no unilateral reason to reject ownership by the UAE.
Finally, a bit of common sense, should surely put this matter to rest. It is not as if DP World, which incidentally has an American as CEO, is going to replace the Coast Guard or custom agents. Members of the American government will still be running security at the ports. Not to mention, any employees DP World attempts to bring into America will be subject to the very stringent restrictions Congress and the President have put on visa approval. 98% of the longshoremen and the crane operators will be the same unionized, patriotic Americans who were operating the port under the British.
Please do not get swept up in the racist rhetoric of dangerous times. Do NOT unilaterally reject the purchase of these ports by the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Thank you for your time and concern.
Sincerely,
Aaron Mandel
Durham, NC
e-mailed Saturday, March 4th, 2006 (similar versions to Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Dick Burr)
Dear Senator Elizabeth Dole,
Please do not get swept up in xenophobia surrounding the Dubai port deal. As yet the objections to this deal are nothing more than vicious racial profiling. To suggest America cannot do business with a country on the basis of their ethnicity runs contrary to the founding principles of our nation.
I do not unilaterally object to a further review of the deal, but we cannot and should not send a simple message that "Americans can't trust Arabs or Muslims." It is untrue and un-American. Not to mention, unsupported by the realities of the status quo. Saudi Arabia, country of origin for many of the 9/11 hijackers, not only does a huge commodities business with America, read:oil, but they also own port terminals in the United States, already. There is no unilateral reason to reject ownership by the UAE.
Finally, a bit of common sense, should surely put this matter to rest. It is not as if DP World, which incidentally has an American as CEO, is going to replace the Coast Guard or custom agents. Members of the American government will still be running security at the ports. Not to mention, any employees DP World attempts to bring into America will be subject to the very stringent restrictions Congress and the President have put on visa approval. 98% of the longshoremen and the crane operators will be the same unionized, patriotic Americans who were operating the port under the British.
Please do not get swept up in the racist rhetoric of dangerous times. Do NOT unilaterally reject the purchase of these ports by the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Thank you for your time and concern.
Sincerely,
Aaron Mandel
Durham, NC
Labels: Middle East, Politics
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