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'American public has poor knowledge of ports issue'

"The American public don't understand the issue at all," he said.

Moreover, Margolis indicated that the blame for this lies with the Bush Administration. "The US government didn't explain the situation at all, and Bush has created this problem for himself."

Margolis explained that it has become somewhat of a sensitive issue. "The American Press declared Arabs were taking over American ports. However, it wasn't made clear that it wasn't a security issue," he revealed. And as a result, "a lot of Americans now believe Bedouins will be standing guard at these ports," he said. "The whole country is paranoid. Currently in the US, there's a lot of Islamaphobia," he added.

He agreed that many senators are using the issue to gain political mileage for themselves.

"The Democrats have jumped on this to attack Bush because it has now become a national security issue. They want to appear tough to the American public on issues relating to national security because it has worked so well for Bush," he said. "This is perfect for them."

According to Margolis, the conservatives are also upset. "To the conservative Press and politicians, Bush has appeared weak on this issue, and now the Israel lobby has jumped in," he said. "Bush has created a big problem for himself."

Margolis is a regular commentator on CBC TV and CNN. He is also affiliated with the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, and won the South Asian Journalist Association Award in 1998.

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