Dubai Threatens To “Hit Back” On The Ports Deal
Dubai is threatening retaliation against American strategic and commercial interests if Washington blocks its $6.8 billion takeover of operations at several U.S. ports.
As the House Appropriations Committee yesterday marked up legislation to kill Dubai Ports World’s acquisition of Britain’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), the emirate let it be known that it is preparing to hit back hard if necessary.
A source close to the deal said members of Dubai’s royal family are furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal.
“They’re saying, ‘All we’ve done for you guys, all our purchases, we’ll stop it, we’ll just yank it,’” the source said.
Retaliation from the emirate could come against lucrative deals with aircraft maker Boeing and by curtailing the docking of hundreds of American ships, including U.S. Navy ships, each year at its port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source added.
First off, I don’t think this is a good move by Dubai. Americans don’t respond well to threats, and this will probably only serve to solidify opposition to the deal.
That being said, can you blame them for being angry? They have been our staunch allies in the middle east. They have cooperated fully in the war on terror and have been instrumental in facilitating our military operations in the region. They were promised a 45 day review of their deal to buy out another foreign firm which is already managing the ports in question, and here not even a quarter of the way into that review period the House has already pretty much closed the book on the deal with many of the politicians all but calling the UAE a terror state.
The UAE don’t see themselves as terrorists. They see themselves as our allies and worthy of a modicum of respect. That they haven’t received that respect has probably done untold amounts of damage to our relationship with them and, by extension, our ability to operate in the middle east.
