[Vision2020] Lies, Ports, and Saudi Arabia Yet Again!

Sun Feb 26 17:00:34 PST 2006

Pat et. al.

A foreign government operating critical US infrastructure should be a
concern no matter what government it is, but Singapore and Dubai present
very different problems relating to US security.  I doubt Singapore presents
the same potential dangers regarding US security and terrorism as Dubai.
But US ports across the board should increase security, even if it means
widgets at Wal-Mart shipped from the Chinese Communist one party rule human
rights violating dictatorship will cost more, and negatively impact
quarterly earnings.

One moment Bush lovers insist we must invade and occupy another nation,
Iraq, in large part because of it's WMDs threatening the US (that Iraq did
not have when we invaded), and ties (false ties, according to the US
government's 9/11 Commission) to 9/11 and Al Queda, as we depose an evil
dictator, though the chances of establishing a better society in Iraq by the
use of violence and military force were very doubtful (as the US continues
business with and send billions in US aid to other dictatorships around the
world).

But now that the Bush administration is (was) allowing a state owned
company, from a nation with well documented ties to the 9/11 attacks and Al
Queda, to control critical US infrastructure, many Bush lovers say the
warning flags being raised are an exaggerated reaction?

An exaggerated reaction?  Excuse me?!  Maybe if we started bombing Dubai as
we rolled in the tanks, announcing another disgusting "shock and awe"
campaign, killing innocent civilians in a country mostly unable to defend
itself against the greatest military in the world, that might be
"exaggerated."

And now, to harp again on this related topic...I still cannot fathom why
much of the US public still seems to forget or ignore... 15 of the 9/11
hijackers were Saudi nationals!  And how much money has Saudi Arabia
invested in the USA?  And why has Saudi Arabia blocked full investigations
into the 15 Saudi 9/11 hijackers?

"Houston, we have a problem!"
----------------------------------------------

"The report strongly criticized top Saudi officials for their 'lack of
cooperation' before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, even when it became
known that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.…One top U.S. official told
the joint inquiry staff that the Saudis since 1996 would not cooperate on
matters relating to Osama bin Laden.  Robert Baer, a former CIA officer,
said the Saudis blocked FBI agents from talking to relatives of the 15
hijackers and following other leads in the kingdom."

*Frank Davies, et al., "Bush rejects call to give more 9/11 data,"
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30, 2003.*
-----------------------------------

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded
because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent
of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for
bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve
its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

— James Madison, Political Observations, 1795

--------------------------
Ted Moffett

On 2/25/06, Pat Kraut <pkraut at moscow.com> wrote:
>
> The Singapore company that is in Seattle is government owned also...that's
> not a good reason.
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com>
> *To:* Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com>
> *Cc:* vision2020 at moscow.com
> *Sent:* Saturday, February 25, 2006 3:25 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] Lies, Ports, and Saudi Arabia Yet Again!
>
>
> DC, Joan et. al.
>
> Most US ports are run by foreign based private sector businesses at this
> time, but the turnover of port operations to the UAE involves a foreign
> government owned company, not a private corporation, operating critical US
> ports.  This raises different concerns, given the UAE's conduct and
> connections in the Islamic world.
>
> Dubai Ports World is acquiring London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam
> Navigation Co., a company that operates the port of Miami (yes, the "limeys"
> already operate some US ports), which in effect means that this very active
> US port is already associated with this state owned UAE company, and this
> fact is being fought in court now.  Excerpt below from this link/article,
> that explains the objections to the UAE takeover:
>
> http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_049154722.html
>
> A company at the Port of Miami has sued to block the takeover of shipping
> operations there by the UAE owned business. It is the first American
> courtroom effort to capsize the sale.
>
> The Miami company, a subsidiary of Eller & Company Inc., presently is a
> business partner with London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
> Co., which Dubai Ports World purchased last week. In a lawsuit in Florida
> circuit court, the Miami subsidiary said that under the sale it will become
> an "involuntary partner" with Dubai's government and it may seek more than
> $10 million in damages.
>
> The Miami subsidiary, Continental Stevedoring & Terminals Inc., said the
> sale to Dubai was prohibited under its partnership agreement with the
> British firm and "may endanger the national security of the United States."
> It asked a judge to block the takeover and said it does not believe the
> company, Florida or the U.S. government can ensure Dubai Ports World's
> compliance with American security rules.
> --------------------------------------
> Although the UAE has troubling links to terrorism and terrorists, the fact
> that two UAE nationals were among the 19 9/11 hijackers is overshadowed by
> the Saudi 9/11 connections, with 15 of the 9/11 hijackers of Saudi
> nationality, and the ominous funding trail for the 9/11 attacks that
> flowed from within the Saudi borders:
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks
>
> Fifteen of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia>,
> two were from the United Arab Emirates<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates>,
> and one each came from Egypt <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt> and
> Lebanon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon>.
> ----------------------------------
>
> The lack of a full well publicized government investigation into Saudi
> terrorist links to 9/11 and other terrorist activities, and the influence of
> the 100s of billions of Saudi US investments and US reliance on Saudi fossil
> fuels, on the US economy and government, is far more of a critical issue
> than the UAE terrorist connections, though I agree it is good that port
> security and the terrorist links of so called Middle East "allies" is now
> more on the media and congressional radar.
>
> One critical question is how the sad state of US port security has gone so
> long without public demands for improvement, while we invade other nations
> spending hundreds of billions ostensibly to keep the US safe from
> terrorism?  The lack of necessary improvements in US port security in recent
> years raises serious questions regarding the truth behind the agenda of the
> "War on Terror" and the functioning of the Homeland Security Dept.
>
> More info on the UAE below:
>
> http://www.thinkprogress.org/2006/02/17/ports-uae/
>
>
> Some facts about the UAE<http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/Dubai_Ports_letter.pdf>
> :
>
> – 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*.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Ted Moffett
>
> On 2/24/06, Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com> wrote:
> >
> > Area Man Dan asks:
> >
> > "Where was all the bruhaha when the ports were taken over by a British
> > conglomerate? I seem to recall them invading us almost 200 years ago,
> > about 30 years after we kicked them out of the country."
> >
> > If this were 200 years ago (and assuming we'd all been transported back
> > in
> > time with our iPods and such), I suppose we wouldn't have entrusted any
> > of
> > our ports to the British, them being anti-American limeys and all. But,
> > it's 2006, and George W. Bush (not King George III) announced some four
> > plus years ago that we would have no truck with terrorists or the
> > countries that harbor, fund, and sponsor terrorists.
> >
> > The United Arab Emirates harbored and sponsored Mohammed Atta, the
> > purported organizer of the September 11th attacks, and Zacharias Al
> > Moussaui. The United Arab Emirates was the last country in the world to
> > allow flights into and out of Afghanistan after the rest of the world
> > (including Saudi Arabia) had finally agreed to isolate the
> > Taliban.  Last
> > but not least, why couldn't the Clinton Administration "take out" Osama
> > bin Laden in late 1999 when U. S. intelligence finally pinpointed his
> > location inside Afghanistan? Because they would have taken out half of
> > the
> > royal family of the UAE in the process; it would seem that their royal
> > highnesses, the dictators of the UAE, were frequent and welcome guests
> > of
> > Osama bin Laden.
> >
> > This port deal stinks to high heaven. And what's the whiffiest bit? The
> > Carlyle Group's involvement. Here's a piece of trivia for you -- where
> > was
> > George H. W. Bush on September 11th, 2001? Meeting with the Carlyle
> > Group,
> > which at that time included Osama bin Laden's brother.
> >
> > Show me the money!
> >
> > Joan "Grassy Knoll" Opyr/Auntie Establishment
> > www.joanopyr.com
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------
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> >           http://www.fsr.com/
> >
> >
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>
>  ------------------------------
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