They Censor News Channels, Don't They?

Lou Dobbs has been doing some excellent, detailed reports on the Dubai port deal this past week. In some people's opinion... too detailed. Dobbs reported today that Dubai Ports World, the state-run company involved in the deal, told CNN to shut him up or they would block CNN from any and all media access to their operations. CNN, to their credit, is sticking by Dobbs.

No wonder President Bush likes them so much, they're both bullies who hate the concept of a free press. This isn't the biggest news relating to this story today (the Coast Guard concerns are making the rounds), but I think it speaks volumes about their attitudes.

The President and Dubai assure us they have nothing to hide and that this deal is on the level. That very well may be true, but the secret, antagonistic way both parties are handling this matter does not help their case. Whether or not the deal poses a legitimate national security threat, it is obvious that this deal is motivated more by global business reasons than a desire to foster friendly relations with the Arab world. If the President was truly concerned about that, he wouldn't have invaded Iraq in the face of overwhelming disagreement, wouldn't have turned a blind eye on the prison torture, and wouldn't have used the very xenophobic fears he's now accusing critics of to consolidate his power.

His ability to play the 'trust me' card is also long over, especially since he was as out of the loop on this as most of us until just last week. The answers we get may find less to worry about than we fear, but it's important that people like Mr. Dobbs continue to ask the questions.