What's the big deal about the UAE and US Ports?

Click on headline for this HuffPo's solid deconstruction why this is a big deal.


In a nutshell:

"A year after Bin Ladin served formal notice of his intention to kill Americans anyhow, anywhere, the CIA appropriately tracked his whereabouts and was prepared to take him out, but was denied the opportunity because of the presence of high-level UAE officials who were socializing with the head of Al Qaeda. Worse, when the United States alerted the UAE of their displeasure with these contacts, the UAE's response was to tip off Bin Ladin and further thwart our efforts to kill him."

And then there's secret deals between the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. (AP via Yahoo!)....

... Bob Dole is a lobbyist for the Dubai state-owned company. (RN&O)...

... a proper review may have been bypassed. (AP via Sun-Sentinel)...

...and it's bringing together Republicans and Democrats together against the Bush White House (AP...