There are 2 stories here and one's getting media coverage and one is not and the more I think about it I come to the conclusion that that is NO accident.

Story 1.  Media Angle: Arabs are running our ports and that puts us in danger of being attacked by terrorists.  Variations: Arabs can't be trusted, it's not that all Arabs can't be trusted, but the UAE can't be trusted, The UAE is in bed with the Taliban, 2 9-11 hijackers were from the UAE.  Both parties getting on the horse and riding the "tough on security" theme.  Also, local politicians and Congress getting fed up with not be consulted about these things.

Story 2.  Leftish Bloggers' Angle:  WTF is the government doing here?  We put corporate friendships over national security.  DHS is incompetent.  The government is hipocritical.  Privatizing security is dangerous.  There is no transparency.  We can't solve all our problems by outsourcing or handing them over to the private sector.  We really are also worried about security and depending on nations like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and the UAE for our welfare is stupid.  Not because all Arabs are terrorists, but because of the lack of democratic safegaurds in these countries and palpable anti-American sentiment coupled with the fact that they've already illustrated their willingness to used violence against us.  I don't advocate bombing them, but neither to I advocate placing our security in their hands.  

Very few issues raised in #2 are addressed in the American media, which is convenient for Bush Co.  They cannot respond to those concerns, whereas they can respond to the first set of accusations just by saying, hey, we're not the racists here.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire