Dubai-Based American: No Call for Concern Over Ports Deal
by Chad Groening and Fred Jackson
February 28, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An American legal consultant living in the United Arab Emirates says the U.S. has no reason to be suspicious of the controversial deal that would give management control of six U.S. seaport operations to a company owned by that Middle Eastern nation. Jack Greenwald feels so safe in Dubai -- one of the seven emirates making up the UAE -- that he has chosen to raise his family there. The head of Greenwald Legal Consultants says Americans should not condemn the country, even though it was used as a conduit by terrorists prior to 9-11. "Just because some foreigners came through here and used Dubai -- used its liberalness, used it openness ... the country is getting condemned," he observes.
"Well then, you better condemn Germany, Spain, and the United States [as well]," he says, adding that he believes "the people rattling the cages better do that if they want to be consistent."
Greenwald explains that after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the emirates cracked down on terrorism. "Dubai was shocked [and] upset by it, and the people and the government here made it very clear that they were supporting us," he says, "so they condemned the terrorist act." In post-9-11 Dubai, says Greenwald, he and his family have felt "completely comfortable" -- and that because the country drastically changed its security policies, the "bad guys" no longer consider Dubai a safe haven.
The complaints and calls for putting a hold on the pending sale of dock operations in six American ports to Dubai Ports World are "totally unfounded," says the legal consultant.
"Dubai is a great ally, a great supporter for Americans, and we need to support the people who are supporting us rather than rushing in right away and condemning them," he asserts. "[The government and the nationals here] are strong supporters of us; [so] rather than jumping the gun [and] rushing to judgment, our decision makers or opinion makers need to think first."
The U.S. ports involved in the deal are New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the UAE ports debate comes word of a series of FBI raids on some convenience stores in northern Louisiana last week, all of them with ties to Arab countries. TV station KNOE (Monroe, Louisiana) reports that last week, agents with the Bureau and authorities from the Department of Homeland Security carried out the raids at convenience stores in at least four parishes.
The station reports officials seized evidence "by the box full" -- and that sources have told KNOE that the stores are suspected of involvement in money laundering or counterfeiting. KNOE also quotes police sources as saying at least some of the gas station operators are from Yemen, an Arab country just south of Saudi Arabia. An Associated Press story on the sting operation quotes FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne, who confirmed the raids at several locations, but that no arrests were made.
Chad Groening and Fred Jackson, regular contributors to AgapePress, report for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
