The dispute between Bush and his own party-controlled Congress has created an embarrassing situation.

American ports have always been a great vulnerability, especially since only about 7 percent of the cargo that is transferred through this country’s seaports is checked by security.

This is why many people, Democrats and Republicans alike, are baffled by President Bush’s recent decision to allow Dubai Ports World to control half a dozen major seaports in the U.S. Subsequently, the issue has sparked much controversy.

Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, where a few of the terrorists that were behind the 9/11 attacks were from. Fear began spreading instantly that a mass of Middle Easterners were going to storm in and take over our ports.

“If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward,” Bush said.

Not everyone shares his enthusiasm.

Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Hillary Clinton declared they would push Congress to pass legislation to ban the sale of U.S. seaports to foreign companies. At first even Bush himself claimed that officials did not give him all of the facts concerning the ports deal, causing Clinton to call the approval process “a failure of judgment.”

Bush then decided not to back down. His fellow Republicans have joined the Democrats in blasting the decision. GOP leaders like Bill Frist, Lindsey Graham and John McCain have all publicly criticized the port deal.

Sen. Frist even threatened to use all of his power to put the contract on hold. Bush shot back by saying that he is ready to veto any bill that would halt Dubai Ports World’s acquisition of the seaports. He even called his critics anti-Arab.

Since then, lawmakers have pushed for a 45-day investigation of the deal. The Bush administration, with the support of Dubai Ports World, has finally agreed to a short delay while the situation is being reviewed.

This seaports debacle has ignited a firestorm within the Republican Party. The dispute between Bush and his own party-controlled Congress has created an embarrassing situation.

Many of the conservative politicians against the president on this issue are up for re-election soon and want to distance themselves from his actions. They do not want to appear weak on an issue that is important to most Americans. The battle is only beginning.

There are some supporters of Bush on this issue that have fought back. They say U.S. ports will always be guarded and inspected by Homeland Security regardless of who owns them. The Washington Post even accused those who opposed the deal as trying to spread “prejudice and misinformation.”

The truth is that this debate is getting uglier and uglier. It is clear to me that the same post-9/11 anti-Middle Eastern sentiment is growing yet again. People are terrified that the Arabs will smuggle bombs into this country and form mushroom clouds over our major cities. That kind of hateful stereotype is useless and disturbing.

I do not think that Dubai Ports World has any negative intentions. This is purely a business venture for them. I do think, however, that Bush does not know what he is getting into.

Why is selling the control of our seaports necessary right now, especially selling control to another country? The deal is causing too much harm all around and there are too many issues to deal with first.

The most surprising part of this fiasco is that Bush is the one pushing for the transaction. He is so delusional that he forgets that he is the man who helped keep anti-Middle Eastern attitudes alive throughout his presidency. The only good thing that could come out of this is the dawn of the decline of the two-party system.

The events surrounding the ports takeover have severely affected the GOP. With the Democrats and Republicans holding hands, both united to stop Bush, who will remember what party they belong to in the first place?

Leaders will deal with problems by using the best possible solution instead of just choosing the solution that their political party demands.

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