"...Bush's judgment on foreign affairs and national security is clouded by his close ties to the Arab world." Yuch.
Democrats Raising Bush Ties To Arabs in Battle Over Ports
By E.J. KESSLER
Forward 3 March 2006
http://www.forward.com/articles/7428
As President Bush faces a bipartisan furor from the deal to hand over control of operations at six American ports to a Dubai firm, Democrats are using the controversy to underscore the ties of the administration and its allies to Arab nations.
In particular, Democrats are pointing to links between administration cronies and Dubai World Ports, a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates. They also have rushed to join critics objecting to the deal on the grounds that the firm has taken part in the Arab boycott of Israel.
At least three Jewish organizations -- B'nai B'rith International, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and the Anti-Defamation League -- have come out against the port deal.
However the controversy of the ports plays out -- on Sunday the administration agreed to a 45-day security review of the sale -- the debate is providing Democrats with an opportunity to revive a familiar charge of theirs from the last presidential election: that Bush's judgment on foreign affairs and national security is clouded by his close ties to the Arab world. The theme, featured in the controversial 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," was pressed during the 2004 campaign in cable television advertising by several prominent Democratic-affiliated 527 groups, and in particular formed the basis of a print campaign undertaken by the National Jewish Democratic Council.
"Certainly the Bush family has an incredibly close relationship with Arab royalty," said Erik Smith, a Democratic strategist who in 2004 made several television ads highlighting the business ties between members of the Bush family and the Saudis. "The White House said the president didn't know about the deal, but if he did, I doubt he would have objected. He's repeatedly turned a blind eye in Saudi Arabia and other places when things have happened that are not in our interest."
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