The administration's Arab problem

Maybe I'm missing something here.

Post-9/11, Arabs in this country were treated like garbage; blanket orders from DoJ to submit to "interviews", racial profiling, overt and covert official hostility, with a sharp spike in hate crimes attendant on all of this. The lunatic fringe - or, to use the republican expression, "top conservative pundits" - are still calling for internment camps and "raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences" measures.

So why exactly are top republicans and their feckless administration now pushing for a trade deal that would allow the government and private sector of Oman to purchase outright key national security assets?

The answer seems to be that the Omanis are brown people we like. The country is staunchly pro-Western, having been a British colony until 1971 and presently governed by an emir who graduated from Sandhurst. In addition, it practices a form of Islam known as 'Ibadh', which stresses tolerance and communal decision making - never a bad thing. The Saudi Wahhabists consider the Omanis to be heretical - a huge vote in their favor, in my mind.

So the next time you hear some rightie talking about how intrinsically dangerous and downright evil all Arabs and Muslims are, tell them that their government is trying to sell Raytheon to an Arab country. Just step back so the goo from exploding heads doesn't get all over your clothes.