Via the AFP
Saudi security forces killed in intense clashes five men who were hiding in a Riyadh house with a cache of explosives and were linked to a bid to blow up the world’s largest oil-processing plant.
The attack on the Abqaiq processing plant in the oil-rich Eastern Province was foiled by security forces Friday when they killed the would-be suicide-bomber drivers of two trucks laden with explosives before they could penetrate the massive complex.
The interior ministry said the five suspects holed up in the Al-Yarmuk quarter of Riyadh, who battled police for an hour after being surrounded in the early morning, were linked to the failed Abqaiq attack.
What does that have to do with the UAE ports deal? It is an illustration that things change. Can you imagine Saudi Arabia going after terrorists with such zeal even 5 years ago? Og, they might have made a token attempt, which would have been weeks later. But they would not have had this response.
We compare that to the United Arab Emirates. Everything being said about them is in the past. There is little to no information that is current that would make me change my mind that the deal is A-OK.
People ask “why am I for the deal?” This is usually because I have asked them why they are against it, the answers usually involving old news, anti Bush hysteria, and/or an inability to articulate the talking points and articles of others. Some cite the 9/11 Report, saying that it is current. True. But the information regarding the UAE is 7 years old. My response? “Innocent till proven guilty.”
I am willing to have my mind changed, if provided with current, relevant, facts. Not hysteria, old stuff. Not “because Bush is for it.” But real facts that are current. Because countries and corportations, like people, change.
John Hawkins at Right Wing News has a pretty good take on the issue.
