Letter: Selling of ports portends fall of U.S. empire

Sunday, March 5, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

President Bush's push to approve the selling of six U.S. port operations to the United Arab Emirates should open the eyes of the American public to the selling off of America to the highest bidders. In the name of "capitalism" and "free trade," the industrial strength of America is being sold off.

With each transaction goes another part of our industrial might and technical know-how. Since the beginning in America of the Industrial Revolution, the United States has built itself into the strongest economic and military power in the world.

History will probably record that our nation reached its zenith with the fall of the Berlin Wall through the end of the 20th century, when historians will determine when the selling off of America actually began, but it is obvious that it has accelerated during the Bush administration.

One only has to look at history as it tells of the rise and fall of great societies and empires. The writings in the sands of time repeat the root cause of this fall as arrogance, corruption, hedonism and greed. Freedom of the press has allowed the news media to herald some of the more significant of these transactions. Many of the TV commentators, such as Lou Dobbs on CNN, along with others of his ilk have sounded the alarm. The numbers speak for themselves.

The more blatant can be seen in the rapidly rising national debt and the ever-growing gap in the negative balance of trade. However, let us face it, those in a position to take action, namely the U.S. Congress and the president and his administration, have chosen to ignore the warnings.

I hope and pray that there is still time for the populace to recognize and understand the depth and seriousness of the situation. It will take a loud and serious outcry by the voters and the populace in general to get the attention of the powers that be.

Ray Harbert, Las Vegas