I am deeply concerned that the proposed transfer of seaport operations to a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates government might compromise our ability to effectively control our ports and harbors.
From the beginning, I got all Emirates cabin crew applicants psychometrically tested. Those who didn't want to be nice to others got rejected.
Our ports are a vital link in national security and it is extremely dangerous to be considering their sale to the United Arab Emirates government.
I would hope that is not the case. I hope the people of the United Arab Emirates and the government will understand that in a democracy, there is a process of debate.
We have some very good neutral venues like California, United Arab Emirates and Holland where there are a large number of expatriates of both countries and they would love to watch their cricketing heroes.
Figures are very sketchy at present, but roughly we expect around 8000 to 10,000 applications a month through the 78 post offices of Emirates Post located throughout the country.
To put this in perspective, planes with pilots from the United Arab Emirates fly into this country every day. We don't ban them. Ship pilots from the UAE can steer ships into U.S. ports every day. We don't ban them, either.
We just don't have the same relationship with the United Arab Emirates that we have with Britain. Do we really want to entrust security to a foreign government that had connections to some of the 9/11 hijackers?
The United Arab Emirates today is a good friend and a good ally. After the events of 9/11, the government of the U.A.E. made a strategic decision to be on the right side of the issue and has cooperated with us very, very extensively on the war on terrorism and anti-proliferation.
A terrorist will try to exploit every possible means to carry out their evil plans. The fact remains, however, that the United Arab Emirates has been a strong and valuable partner in the global war on terror.