Turns out there is one more person who thinks selling our ports to Arabs is a good idea

Joe Lieberman, come on down!

ETA: Mark Evanier sez-

this thing about outsourcing the operation of several U.S. ports to an Arabian company -- seems like errant criticism. One can make a good argument that we shouldn't be handing a job this sensitive over to an outside supplier at all...that it should be done by the United States government. But none of the folks yelling at Bush today seem to be making that case. They weren't bothered when it was a British company that was running the six U.S. ports...but now that the company's being acquired by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, all Hades is breaking loose.

As always, Mark is a clever guy and I encourage you to read his side. But I think perhaps the NY Times said it best:

The issue is not, as Mr. Bush is now claiming, a question of bias against a Middle Eastern company. The United Arab Emirates is an ally, but its record in the war on terror is mixed. It is not irrational for the United States to resist putting port operations, perhaps the most vulnerable part of the security infrastructure, under that country's control. And there is nothing in the Homeland Security Department's record to make doubters feel confident in its assurances that all proper precautions will be taken.

"Mixed" is a way of saying implicitly what Forbes went and made explicit:

Menendez and other critics have cited the UAE's history as an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In addition, they contend the UAE was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist.

And via Think Progress:

– The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

– The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.

– According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.

– After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.

So there are reasons why "all Hades is breaking loose." But the thing is that even if there weren't, this would still have been a politically stupid thing to do. How politically stupid? So politically stupid not even Tom DeLay thinks it was a good idea.

For almost five years President George W. Bush has warned Americans to fear terrorism, but now those words may come back to bite him.

"Politically, for the president, it is a huge mistake for him to be defending this decision. The president will be overturned," said U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, the former number two Republican in the House of Representatives

It's so stupid...that the cynic in me thinks maybe it's a setup to let Republicans show they can stand up against Bush and be their own men. Remember: Even paranoids have enemies.