In The News

On Immigration and Ports, Turning Inward

Dana Milbank March 3, 2006
Powerful sentiments are rising that threaten to turn the world’s most globalized nation inward. Two issues have emerged that capitalize on US fears about jobs and security, both revealing an increasing desire for isolation. Debate over a proposed “guest worker” program aimed at transitioning illegal immigrants to legal status mirrors the objections to transfer of control over six US ports to...

Dubai Limps Into Port

March 2, 2006
Intense bipartisan opposition to Dubai Ports Worldwide, a company from the United Arab Emirates, taking control of six US ports represents extreme and uncontrollable fear, according to this editorial from a Singapore newspaper. The uproar has cast suspicion on a moderate Arab country that has been a key US ally in the war on terror. The US ports are controlled by a British company, and the UK...

US Ceded Control of Ports

William Glanz February 28, 2006
The Bush administration’s approval for a United Arab Emirates company’s takeover of operations at six US ports ignited furious debate in Washington over the threat to national security. Yet the deal only reflects the global nature of today’s shipping industry: A Scandinavian ship – flying a Panama flag, carrying Chinese cargo and a Filipino crew – can dock at a California port managed by a...

American Ports in a Storm

Thomas L. Friedman February 23, 2006
New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman criticizes politicians in Washington for their opposition to a proposal to turn management of six US ports over to a state-run Dubai company. In an interview with YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda, Friedman argues that a far greater danger than any perceived threat to US security is thinking that holds it untenable for the US to cooperate...

Globalization Spawns Port Situation

Douglas Birch February 23, 2006
Controversy surrounding a plan to transfer management of six US ports from a British company to Dubai Ports Worldwide reveals the complexities of US-Arab relations. Dubai belongs to the United Arab Emirates, not known for radical Islamic politics. In fact, the UAE is a key Arab ally of the US, with US Navy ships frequently moving in and out of its ports. The al Dafrah Air Base facilitates US...

An Interview with Thomas L. Friedman

February 23, 2006
New York Times foreign affairs columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman talks about the next edition and updates to his bestselling book, "The World Is Flat," with Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online. A full transcript of their conversation follows.

NAFTA and Nativism

Harold Meyerson February 10, 2006
Shortly before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in 1994, then US President Bill Clinton optimistically predicted, as more Mexicans gained the ability to support themselves at home, a gradual decline in illegal immigration. Contrary to Clinton’s promise, however, the US has seen a four-fold increase in undocumented Mexican workers in the last decade. Putting...