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The issue is this: we have two allies -- the UAE and Saudi Arabia -- whose citizens were among those on the 9/11 jets. So obviously there is sympathy for anti-U.S./terrorist action in those countries. And, I have read, contributions from well-heeled members of the population go directly to Al Quaeda and other terrorist organizations.
So the question is, in mathematical terms: where does the set of UAE citizens who sympathize with terrorism overlap the set of citizens who work in, or manage, the UAE-owned port management company. This is an issue that should be studied and discussed, not rammed through with a "trust me" from the president.
I heard Bush make some kind of complaint that it was all about fairness: if we'd let the "Great British" (his term) manage the ports, it would be unfair to discriminate against another ally, the UAE, who wanted the work. The point he misses, of course, is that one can argue that the upper classes of the UAE and thus of the port management company may harbor significant numbers of terrorist sympathizers. This is much less likely with the British. I think :-).
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