Nathan Newman wrote:
> So isn't it better to sound like a hawk than to be one? Wouldn't you
> rather Dems score points by bashing UAE emirs than advocating killing more
> Iraqi civilians?
-Institutionally insulting one of the few allies the US has -in the middle east goes to show how moronic the officials -we elect to lead us are.
This is one ally we should be insulting. The UAE is a plutocratic monarchy which uses exploited imported labor, whose members are regularly defrauded and even raped by employers. It is the fact that we make "allies" of the wealthy emirs and enemies of those demanding social justice that makes our policy moronic.
>From Human Rights Watch
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2003/09/19/uae6388.htm
"Nearly ten million foreigners, most of them unskilled or semi-skilled migrants, work in Gulf states. Migrants comprise some 90 percent of the 1.7 million workers in the United Arab Emirates, where the World Bank will hold its meetings...
Despite their value to both their home countries and the societies in which they work, many migrant workers suffer from discrimination, exploitation and abuse. Migrants, including large numbers of women employed as domestic servants, face intimidation and violence, including sexual assault, at the hands of employers, supervisors, sponsors and police and security forces. Children are especially vulnerable to labor and sexual exploitation and denial of basic rights...
Sponsors and employers often confiscate migrants' documents, including passports and residence permits, restricting their freedom of movement and ability to report mistreatment. Migrants in the Gulf states typically can't obtain an exit visa without the approval of their sponsor or employer, sometimes placing them in situations that amount to forced labor."