As we go to press with this issue of WNP, the hot news item in the United States is the furor over the present administration's plan to allow the lease of the management of six American ports to a group called Dubai Ports World, a group owned in part by the government of Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates.

The idea of having a company that is controlled by an Arab government involved in such a sensitive American business, while the country fights a war on terror based in that part of the world, has created a firestorm of protest.

On Feb. 26 DP World put a hold on its acquisition of the ports and asked for a 45-day investigation designed to ensure that its running of the ports would not be a threat to the security of America. I believe the deal will likely be approved and this issue will pass on.

America's relations with Dubai are very important to the conduct of the terror war. To slap them in the face with denial would cause embarrassment and possible rupture of a critical alliance in that part of the world. The Bush administration cannot let this happen.

The question of security at American ports is very real, and letting an Arab company be privy to the inner workings of this part of American commerce could lead to a security breach of very large proportions. But that concern seems to have been ignored or dismissed.

One of the arguments for approval of this deal is the globalization of the world. Free trade is the lifeblood of the world economy. America is at the heart of this global society and depends on its ties with all the key players, i.e., Arab oil states, China, India and others.

To deny this deal would send a signal to the world that could be seen as isolationist and xenophobic. "We want your trade and we need your oil and, by the way, we want you to continue turning a blind eye to our profligate deficit spending habits," is how some could interpret this. "Oh," they would reply, "but you don't want us in your front yard because we can't be trusted." And in a way, they might be right.

This is not the time to be sending mixed signals. The world is drifting into sectarian and religious strife. Sunnis attack Shias in Iraq , raising the threat of civil war. Danish cartoons incite violent Muslim protests and the burning of embassies. And in Nigeria , Muslims kill Christians and Christians kill Muslims. If any nation can prevent this toxic trend from getting out of control, it would have to be the United States, the world's lone superpower. What it does matters more than many realize.

Globalization is the religion of economics. Its proponents tell us good will, harmony and world peace can be fostered among nations by free trade. The nations that depend on each other for economic prosperity will not go to war.

This is what was behind the last period of globalization that lasted from the middle of the 19th century to 1914. During that period, the world reached a level of industrial output that set the stage for the 20th century of progress. In Europe, prior to 1914 you could go across borders without passports. Goods flowed in and out of world ports, creating a dynamism and world order that many thought would usher in a time of global peace. Unfortunately, this world, and its hope for peace, came to a fiery crash in the flames of World War I.

Today's global order is only the latest attempt to bring about world peace through human economic systems. It will likely give birth to one final world economic system the Bible calls "Babylon the great" (Revelation 18). This global power will create a "peace" that will bring the world to a crisis at the close of the age. Another human effort to achieve world peace without God will fail.

As we look at the tempest surrounding the Dubai ports deal, remember to keep it in the larger perspective. It is one small piece of a larger picture emerging on the world scene. Globalization may bring economic prosperity, but it will not bring world peace. For that, we must await the time of restoration of all things when Christ returns as King of Kings. WNP