President Bush has put forth a challenge tonight that I simply can’t ignore. The president yesterday said, he wanted those who are critical and questioning of this port deal to, “Step up and explain why all of a sudden a middle eastern company is held to a different standard than a great British company.”

1. Well first of all Mr. President to equate any country to your principle partner in the coalition ignores that special relationship this country’s enjoyed with the United Kingdom for decades and decades.
   
   


2. This also is not just a British company and an Arab company as I think you well know. Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation is a British privately owned company. Dubai Ports World is a UAE government controlled and owned company. You see the difference of course.
   
   


3. The money used to fund the 9/11 attacks, most of it in fact was sent to the hijackers through the EAE banking system.
   
   


4. In fact two of the hijackers were originally from the UAE.
   
   


5. The UAE stonewalled US efforts to track Al-Qaeda bank accounts after 9/11.
   
   


6. The Emirates does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state.
   
   


7. The UAE was a transfer point for shipments of nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
   

If those are not good enough reasons I would just suggest I am at a complete loss to offer what might be considered good reasons.