Huge Smiles, Everyone!

Well, Harry sure seems ecstatic about Bush's treatment of the Dubai-port issue. I only hope he didn't wear out his knees in his appreciation for the president.

In any case, he underlines his Harriet Miers-esque praise with borrowing from Bush's playbook, namely creating obvious, vastly accepted arguments as if no one disagrees. I don't think anything published recently would add anything to the fact that Bush believes "the Arab world is ready for democracy." ("Bush disagrees from other conservatives on isolationism?! You're kidding!") Regardless, it certainly is a valid point, but really not the issue with the uproar over the ports brouhaha. The serious concerns out there -- which do not include baseless fears of Arabs, as those who wish to paint this debate would have you believe -- instead focus on what I posted about last week. A group I find myself aligned with frequently, sent out its February newsletter today. Their analysis makes Harry's post look like the half-baked viewpoint it is. They note that the Bush administration is "led by ideology, rather than results" and suggest -- as I did last week-- that truly understandable unease with this revelation stems from the private sector reliance.

(The Bush administration's) overly trusting attitude towards major corporations—which own over 85% of our critical infrastructure—means that it has placed no pressure on business to protect these vital assets. Business has responded by doing almost nothing. The offense-only war on terror has left our country severely underprotected—a point driven home by the 9/11 Commission's report card, which failed this Administration on homeland security.

The authors, leaders of an outfit called the Truman Project, strip this issue from the elation-with-blinders-on that people like Harry choose to give this broader concern. It makes me wonder if Harry has ever heard of this group, and if he'd be interested in more information.

So George W. Bush: Good for you, for not being an isolationist, no doubt about it. Now can we focus on the real issues?