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I have sat by for days as the worst sort of paranoia and xenophobia was trumpeted over the issue of the UAE firm selected to manage major US ports.  This morning, the local paper has run a political cartoon by Trever of the Albuquerque Journal depicting the UAE managers as a Trojan Horse, that is to say, an intending enemy.  I can't sit idle any longer.  Instead, I have to say, "How stupid can you be?"  In hopes of educating at least one more American mind, I offer a few ideas:

1. The contract is for managers, not guardians.  The Coast Guard and the Department of Commerce will still safeguard the harbors just as they would under any management.
2. The managers don't decide what enters the ports.  The same ship traffic will move in the same sea lanes regardless of management.  What the managers decide is how efficiently that traffic is handled.
3. The UAE firm is known for excellent management.  (And now to the meatier issues.)
4. Not all Arabs are terrorists.  In truth, Arab terrorists are about as abundant, proportionally speaking, as white Skinheads, black rappers, or Asian martial arts masters.
5. The UAE is and has been a friend to the US in the Middle East.  To say that we can't trust them because they are Arabs is an expression of bigoted ignorance.  To say that we can't trust them because they produced a couple of the 9-11 terrorists is to apply a gross stereotype.  After all, America produced Charles Manson and Marilyn Manson; what does that make YOU?