UAE Port of Entry: Gateway to Another 911....

The day before 911, cursed lifelong by premonitions of tragic events, I was possibly the only uninvolved person on earth that knew what was about to happen but I was helpless. I did not know where to turn because I could not prove what I foresaw.

I am not going to take the same chance by failing to speak out about the United State's ill-considered decision to grant Dubai access and control of US ports because I know in my heart and soul and from very recent information, gathered directly from Dubai residents, that America will witness another 911.  

Although the President of the United Sates has assured people that the UAE is an ally, what the people of the United States don't know is that over two million Dubai residents are foreigners, mostly on temporary status. After spending more than a month mingling with the “real” residents of the UAE, I say with conviction that although the UAE presents a squeaky clean image of being a US ally, the truth is that it is a lawless country. If you know someone who knows a sheikh or a prince, you are home free, no matter what crime you commit.

These foreign business and port workers, mostly from Iran but also thousands from Pakistan, India, Philippines and other Muslim countries, include many Islamic hardliners. Although they keep a low profile to preserve their guest worker status, they have no regard for America and Europe. They not only publicly condemn them and hate that they have to work alongside westerners; many hardliners are interacting with Al Qaeda members.

During my recent thirty-four day stay in Dubai, I interviewed a large number of locals and foreigners. I was alarmed that so many expressed such intense hatred and disregard for the US and European countries and blamed them for their local problems. Many of the Muslims from different countries residing in Dubai defended Al Qaeda, claiming the US is the root of all Muslim countries problems. These foreigners can move from one location to the next and no one has any record of their location or movement. And, if they have not offended one of the Sheikhs, their visa will be validated every three years.

Even those residents who profess to be US allies with every intention of controlling the terrorists, say it is a nearly impossible task to police because the executives and locals do not have a controlling presence on the open market docks. Foreigners from many nations with no love for the United States and the West are doing the actual physical work that affords opportunity for a terrorist act.

There is no assurance that a presumably thoroughly vetted, executive is harmless. I personally interviewed a clean-cut professional engineer, living quietly in Canada, who revealed, in a clumsy recruitment attempt, that he was a Bin Laden comrade in the past, member of an Al Queda sleeper cell and willing to kill innocent Americans and Canadians on command.

The ports of Dubai are especially easy to reach and obtain work in, particularly for Iranians. Many of the sailors working on local ships were from Iran, to the extent that Farsi is a dominant language on the waterfront. Dubai is located 15 minutes by air from the south of Iran and only two hours from the farthest cities in northwest and eastern Iran.

Reaching Dubai is extremely easy for Iranian suicide bombers who know someone in Dubai. And, since most of these workers are qualified to work on ports and boats, it will make the US port management deal a great avenue for attacks on United States. 

The government of Iran has great influence on the Dubai economy. Many of the people I interviewed characterized Dubai as the "backdoor" for Iranian hard-liners, including Mr. Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, who has built a magnificent high-rise commercial/luxury apartment building called Doust (Frien) of Dubai and is now building a hospital in Kuwait.

Iran is bracing for the worst and this could very well be their vengeance on the US. The Iranian government has started a propaganda campaign that the US will attack Iran and start a war on March 28 th , 2006. This campaign is intended to get Iranian's mindset for whatever comes and there is a great possibility that Iran will make the first move in an attempt to provoke the US and Israel into hitting Iran.

With all the increased possibilities for an attack on United States soil, how can the US government say it is protecting Americans while allowing deals such as this to go through without concern that very critical information can land in the wrong hands?

We all know the UAE government has given 100 million dollars to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort but are we willing to risk the possibility of sacrificing another few thousand innocent people to get a 7 billion dollar deal in place? Is it really worth it?

I guess it all comes down to how we want to be remembered in history. At one point, the US helped Sadam, believing he was a US ally, even though there was every indication that his hands were soaked in the blood of thousands of Shiah and Kurds. We helped Bin Laden in Afganistan because we thought he was our ally in the cold war against the Russians. We helped the current Iranian regime by neglecting to help Mosadeg, the beloved pro-western, Prime Minister of Iran.

The question remains, are we determined for to history to repeat itself and eventually regret doing this deal?

Are we so dense that we can't learn from our past mistakes and stop believing that our destiny is pre-written? I don't believe this and I don't think God condones another 911. We must recognize that the information shared with this company can be used to facilitate terrorist attacks.

The UAE government and the sheiks may indeed be staunch allies of the US but a government with the best intentions in the world cannot prevent the patient, inevitable infiltration by terrorists and their sympathizers.