"The Petulant Child"

Having acted like a petulant child so many times in my life, it is easy for me to recognize that behavior. If I had the opportunity to make a situation better by saying the appropriate thing, I would as a rule choose to say what would make the situation worse. It was pride and ego, and I recognize my past inability to say the right thing when I didn't have my way.

President Bush threatened to veto any Congressional move to block the "ports" deal, backing it while saying that it did not represent the slightest security risk.

In the face of a massive Congressional rebellion against the deal, DP World had little choice but to transfer their US contracts to an American "entity."

On Friday President Bush said, "I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies in the world, particularly in the Middle East."

I believe that the President should have said the following:

"The American public is extremely concerned with security issues, and even the perceived possibility of the ports deal compromising security will not be accepted by America. I regret that political pressure was brought to bear by the Congress of the United States to rescind this transaction. While we deeply value our relationships and the support that we receive from the UAE, Americans remembered that it was the government of Dubai that had recognized the Taliban, and two UAE nationals were involved in 9/11. Also, monies used to finance the 9/11 terrorists had flowed through Dubai, and the UAE has failed to recognize the government of Israel. We would like to put this event behind us and look forward to our continuing relationship with the UAE."

It also would not have hurt if he took personal responsibility for the handling of the transaction by the administration.

It is not too difficult to hypothesize variety of scenarios that caused the President to embrace the transaction. It is however difficult to understand why he was purportedly unaware that so many members of his administration were reviewing the deal.

I am most uncomfortable about the president's ego, as he seems to believe that his word is somehow "law in the universe," and that he is somehow preordained to do as he wishes when it comes to matters that concern him. The Congress and its laws just do not seem to matter to this president.

Looking at the bright side of things, there remain only a little more than 2 years of this Bush presidency.

Perhaps we can then have a president, either a Democrat or a Republican, who will substitute judgment, experience, and intellect for pride, petulance, and ego. Wouldn't that be an interesting idea?

Norman Horowitz

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