I don't like the idea of selling the operations of key seaports to the U.A.E., but foreign ownership of key national assets may become a reality if we keep up our spending habits. A state owned corporation in China already owns a large terminal in the port of Los Angeles and Singapore has numerous operations throughout the country. Certainly there is a precedent for this. The main contention with this deal is that the company in question is owned by the government of Dubai. Additionally, it has been claimed that the Bush Administration did not perform adequate due diligence with regards to this company, specifically the U.A.E. governments ties with terrorist organizations. Certainly, the US and Dubai have been good allies for 30 years. They have been especially helpful with the War on Terrorism. But, what causes me to take pause here is the potential for regime change in the U.A.E. Look at what happened with Iran, a nation which under the Shah was America's best ally in the region until it fell to the radical element, which was oppressed for years. Iran was (and still is in many respects) the most Westernized nation in the region. The point is that the political landscape can change very rapidly. Given the sensitive nature of our ports, a geo-political shift could literally mean that an enemy regime could be running our ports. This is not a xenophobic statement, nor is it racist to imply so. On principle, I agree with Bush that we ought to help Arab nations integrate into the world economy, and I understand the need to maintain good relations with the Arab world in general, but the security situation here is rather unique. Some have also claimed that the media should ignore this issue and concentrate more on the corruption or the out of control spending in Washington. However, the foreign purchase of key piece of national infrastructure has everything to do with these issues. Increased foreign ownership of national assets is going to continue to be a reality, especially given that personal and public debt has increased so much over the past 10 years, so much so that our rate of savings is now lower than it was during the height of the Great Depression. The US has been financing its trade deficit through debt. Essentially, what the Federal Reserve does is sell Treasury securities to central bankers. Subsequently, the holders of these Treasury bills--Asian, Chinese and Saudi central bankers, end up financing our high debt. The Federal Reserve also uses these injections of capital to keep interest rates low. However, such a strategy is merely a holding strategy, for inflation is already on the way up. At the rate were going, in a matter of a few years, foreigners will own a majority of US capital stocks. China and the Saudis can do significant harm to the US if they decide to unload those bills, which represent US debt. But dont count on this doomsday scenario happening. More than likely in such an event, they will simply transfer those T-bills over into equity investments; in other words, they will invest in US assets like our factories and ports. What can cause them to unload their investment in our debt, paradoxically, is their inability to invest in American assets due to the public's opposition to such controversial foreign buys. Unfortunately, it seems to me that our careless spending habits have put us between a rock and hard place. The best way to minimize damage would be to cut back on spending across the board in order to reduce our deficit and structural debt. However, no one in Washington seems to want to make the sacrifice, as usual. Theyre more interested in scapegoating and playing political games rather than solving problems.