ELA

Good post, that's about where we are. I would say this is more than just Al Qaedas actions. The Sunni's are the number one group who is funding and leading the counter-insurgency and they do not want to form a government with the other two groups. Some Arab politicians are worried that if this grows into a full scale civil war, it could expand to Syria and other Arab nations. If this happens, I say let's pull out and let the Arabs fight it out. If we want, we can provide some support for the new Iraqi government but what I do not want is our troops stuck in the middle between two or three sides who are killing each other. This will be a no-win situation at best for us. Yes, Al Qaeda does hope this will happen but we will not be able to prevent the civil war once it starts and once it starts we don't want to be in the middle of it. The problem is we just can't easily pull our troops out. It will take months to withdraw and we will be in the middle of a quagmire while the civil war between these two groups expands.

Jay Leno said it best Friday night: "So now we are turning over six of our ports to the Arabs. We can't even turn Iraq over to the Arabs!"

Reports out of Washington today shows that HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT was not in favor of the Security Port deal when it was first proposed. The question is who PUSHED this deal through the secret committee and who had enough influence and money to make it happen? We may not know for months or even years to come but there will be a money trail and someone will find it.

According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey, two thirds of Americans support reducing the number of U.S. troops (66 percent) – up 18 points from 48 percent who supported reducing troops last summer. In Iraq, another new poll sponsored by the Program on International Policy Attitudes finds that 70 percent of Iraqis support withdrawing U.S. troops. Now, with the opening salvos of an Iraqi Civil War, should we withdraw or pick sides and fight to win or help one side win the fight? I am asking for your honest thoughts: Should we try to reduce our troops and pull out or support the Shiites since they are going to be running the government and make up the vast majority of the Iraqi troops we have trained (87%)?

I have never justified using abortion as a form of birth control. However, like the President's mother, I do feel there are certain times that the issue may be justified (incest, rape, life of the mother, etc.). I find it amazing that the President has a different view on this subject from his mom. Having said that, I would not want my daughter (if I had one) going through with it but I don't feel the government should be the one that makes this decision. I believe it should be in the hands of the families and the doctors with counseling from the family ministers.

I don't think the Supreme Court will overturn it Roe, but they will put more limitations on it in time. All this SD law will do is force the high court to overturn the SD law because it is so restrictive. The irony of it all is that there is only one clinic in SD that does this procedure and the doctor only flies in from another state a few times a month. The courts will continue to debate this issue for years to come and in the end, even if portions of the 72 ruling are modified, abortion will be legal in most states. California, New York, Florida, Texas, and most large states will still allow some form of abortions with certain restrictions. My guess is this debate will go own long past our lifetime. My perspective is this is a personal matter between a couple and their doctor, not something the government should be involved in legislating.

Very true... and I have said as much. It is a strange way of looking at things and it is not a balanced perspective; nevertheless, it is how many of us feel. Republicans and Democrats alike, conservatives and liberals and moderates all are asking the same questions about this deal. Since 911, we have all changed some of our views. For me, I still do not want individual civil liberties taken away from anyone; but I also do not want foreign states running one city block of our country. Throughout our history, we have relied on foreign investments but only in the last two decades have foreign investors gained so much control of the American landscape. Saudi Princes now own 7% of our nation. They have investments equaling that of Rhode Island. China now is trying to buy their way into our economy using pseudo investment companies wholly owned by the Chinese government. To respond to your statement, I readily admit there is a double-standard in this approach but I would dare say that I have the same feelings as the majority of Americans. The constitution does not protect the rights of Corporate America, only the rights of the individual American citizen. No American citizen is a stockholder of this foreign company because it is owned in its entirety by the U.A.E., consequently it is not relevant to any civil rights discussion. So there you have it! I am patriotic, I believe in the Bill of Rights and the declaration of Independence but not the rights of foreign countries trying to buy it's way and influence in our economy.

Greenman, I have a son who is an officer in the Army and a cousin who is in Iraq. Let's hope and pray our leaders start making better decisions quick because this mess is getting worse. There doesn't seem to be any good or quick solutions. Again, Let's all pray for wisdom and hope our leaders make better decisions and for the safety of all of our brothers, sisters, and children who serve in Iraq. It may not be Vietnam or Korea, but we have no reliable or succesful experience in foreign civil wars. We have helped the UN keep the peace in Kosovo but only atfer the bulk of the fighting. This is going to get very ugly. I'M NOT GOING TO POINT ANY FINGERS IN THIS ONE, JUST PRAY THAT WE FIND A SOLUTION OR GET OUT. tHESE TWO GROUPS HATE EACH OTHER.

On one hand, they say, "Oh, this is such a great deal!" On the other hand, they say, "We didn't know anything about it, we were not informed." How can you say it's a great deal and at the same time run for cover and say, "It's not our fault, we didn't know anything about it?" The lawyers have now stepped in and since it appears they may have broke a 1992 administrative law requiring a 45 day Congressional review, the attorneys are trying to cover themselves, saying, "We must have deniability!"

Fox News reported today that 2/3rds of Congress has been polled and they have said they will not support this deal. They will approve a British Company but not Dubai. I don't see this deal going through but I could be wrong.

I thought this was funny!

Yes, it does, but that is only part of the issue. I think in light of 911 and the attacks since then, we should review every aspect of who controls all points of interest. The same thing is true with how we patrol our borders. Just because this is how we have done business in the past doesn't mean it is what is best for our nation. The other thing that really makes me upset is there are American Companies who have the expertise to take on these contracts and do a good job. I know it is not PC to talk about such things and I am beginning to sound more like a conservative (that's scary) but I really do think we should step back and take a much broader look at this issue. It goes to the heart of our problems in the world. The main reason Al Qeada attacked us in the first place is our political, economic, and social influence in the Muslim World. I know we may not every be able to pull back from this whole global economy thing, but in light of 911, I think we owe it to ourselves to make every effort to put as much of our money in the hands of American workers and American capitalists, not the UAE or Chinese investors for that matter. There is one striking difference... this company is wholly a subsidiary of the UAE. It's not a stockholding corporation with international investors.

You are both right. I am a Baptist and I don't know of any other Baptist who think the way these people do. Having said that, this is the perfect example of how you can take something too far to the right or left! These people are taking fundamental Christian teachings and moving way to the right with them. It's kind of like what John Brown did in the late 1850's with his leadership of Jayhawks in Kansas and the attack on Harper's Ferry just before the Civil War. People do the strangest things in the name of God. We see the same type of fundamentalism on the Muslim side, and just like you good people, there are good Mulsim's who say, these people don't represent the true faith. Any doctrine or philosophy can go to far, right or to the left!

Back in the 1980's we were told that we would have to give up the Steel Industries and lower paying textile jobs but we would replace them with computer industry (hardware and software) jobs. Well all that was true for a decade, now we are losing those high paying jobs too. The proof is in the graph!

Very good article! Lots of data to support what you and I have been saying. This is a very serious problem and it's getting worse every week!

You are correct but here's the really big clincher: The US Coast Guard ONLY INVESTIGATES "Boxes" being unloaded IF one of two things happens: 1. They receive a "Tip" from the FBI, NSA< or other INTEL that a ship needs to be searched, or 2. They receive a communication from the people operating the lifts at the terminal or whatever you want to call it, that something is "fishy" or out-of-place. Then, and only then, will the Coast Guard step in unless they visually see something for themselves. BTW... the American public would be shocked if they saw how loose security already is at these ports. You could smuggle in several truckloads of weapons or bombs (without Uranium) into this country everyday and no one would know unless it happens to be one of less than 12% of the cargos that are checked to see if the items in the containers are what is included on the cargo manifest!

This is sad! Hundreds of American Military Funerals are now being protested by members of a conservative fundemntal church who claims America is going to heck for allowing homosexulaity and sin. The group is out of Kansas. This group flies all over the US calling American Soldiers the "enemies of God!" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1423225/posts http://www.trehargett.org/ http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?r...09:540439:LOCAL

The problem is we are responsible for most of the internal security after the invasion. If the Iraqi police forces can't prevent the violence from breaking down what little internal security they have at this time, we will be caught in between two ethnic and religious enemies and all heck will break loose. The questions will be: 1. Will we support one side or another? 2. Will we fight against both sides when we are attacked? 3. Will we stay and try to prevent this war (I don't think we have nearly enough troops to do that) or will we pull out until its over? Even if we wanted to pull out now, I don't think the logistics of that in the middle of a CIVIL WAR will be easy or quick!

Before we went into Iraq, several leading Think Tanks (conservative and liberal) said that within a few months or years, Iraq would find itself in a CIVIL WAR. Some Top American Army Generals now believe that Civil War began two days ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4741616.stm http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_...HNlYwMlJVRPUCUl http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,2612515.story

Dandy, if you had a brain!!!! I said in my first post that there are two industries doing well in America: 1) automotive 2) aerospace I have already said both of these seem to be doing things the right way in America, even with all the recent layoffs in both sectors. The problem is now there are some cracks in the wall with both of those industries. Ask Ford dealers what is happening within their company and how many more plant closings will come in the next five years? Also, Lockheed and Boeing are losing ground to France's Airbus! China has a new airline company that will join the market soon and they are hiring American, Japanese, and European engineers to get them off the ground. There are some industries that are still here, but the growing trend is for more outsourcing and you are just being dishonest if you don't acknowledge this is happening. It is also happening to Germany, French, and British firms. The global market is heading to ASIA. What I am suggesting is it is not in the best interest of American communities to allow this to happen. WE MUST FIGHT BACK. Local communities must do more to draw and attrack and keep businesses and factories in their communities. Our state and federal laws must limit outsourcing where they can by law and continue to encourage companies to stay home! Here is the bottom line: Dandy is in favor of outsourcing! He sees nothing wrong with it! ELA is not in favor of outsouring! I see it as hurting our local economy and job market.

This is a HUGE security issue! If you can't see this then either you have never been to a major port or you are blind to the facts! This contract will be very different from all of the other ones because this company is solely owned by a foreign government. New development today: The deal is illegal! Before this type of deal can be completed, a 45 day PUBLIC review must take place and the Homeland Department of Security did not take this extra step required by a 1992 law. Also, the company will be responsible for the unloading and offloading of US Army equipment in 4 major ports. They will also have full access to port security plans, secure communications, and security apparatus. This came out in a 87 page document that was released from the state department. Congress will delay this matter for another 90 days to complete public hearings and my Senator from NC has come out against it even though her husband is lobbying for it. Go figure.

I got you on that one! I would hope a quality candidate would apply through the normal process!

I agree... this is a very complex issue, but very few on here want to talk about the complexities of any issue like this. We all tend to gravitate to more simplistic terms when we talk about such issues. I just do not think that we are dealing with any of our borders or points of entry in the best manner or method possible. I would like to see a different set of standards to be developed, to include, American Ownership of all security and offloading of ships in our ports.

Here's my take as a coach on visors... They are a royal pain in the Butt! The problem with them is this, if a kid has an injury, you have to snip the thing off to get to him without removing the helmet. Also, they tend to "fog" up when a kid goes in and out of games on a regular basis. I have had a kid come to the sideline after dropping a pass and you can't see his face for the fog on the mask. If a kid wants to buy one and wear it fine, but on my team, the first time it cost me a play or we have to snip it off, that's the end of it for that game... they all come off. They just serve very little function except to protect a kids face.

There were other countries that applied for this contract. The only reason this came up is because the company that holds the contract is a British Company that is being sold to Arab investors. The man who is the CEO is an American. The fear is just that, loading and unloading. DO YOU KNOW THAT 88% of all containers are not even searched at any of our ports? All it would take is one forklift operator and an inspector to be paid to "look the other way" and a container the size of an 18-wheeler could pass through without any inspection whatsoever. Now tell me this is not an important issue. The Coast Guard does not search all of the ships coming into America. In fact, unless there is solid INTEL they will not stop a ship coming into a US Harbor. The ships come in every day and unload their cargo without any searches by US authorities whatsoever! THESE ARE THE FACTS. The only time many are searched is when the company in charge of off-loading intervenes and calls for security to inspect a container. Now, if these companies are run by foreign interests and the employees are not encouraged to be vigilant, what can happen!