Port Nonsense

Originally Posted by wolf

Isn't this something to do with protecting/keeping an airbase in the UAE that we've been kind of relying on lately?

Sounds like oil and a naval port may be the tie-ins. From Reuters

Bush has vowed to veto any legislation to block the deal and says the United Arab Emirates is a partner in combating terrorism. U.S. warships frequently call at the UAE's Jebel Ali port, which is managed by Dubai Ports.


IMPORTANT CUSTOMER

Dubai Ports chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem played up the company's record on security at a new oil terminal used by the U.S. Navy in Djibouti, a strategically important Horn of Africa country that hosts U.S. troops hunting Islamic militants.

"In fact we have gone beyond the security measures required by regulations," he said at the inauguration of the Doraleh terminal, which is managed by Dubai Ports and serves the U.S. and French navies as well as commercial customers.

"The fact that the Navy still is an important customer here speaks volumes for the initiative we have in place," Bin Sulayem told the gathering on the quays beside the guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg.