I haven't had much time for the internet lately so I haven't been able to follow this thread closely. I did a quick scan and found no mention of this (sorry if I missed something) so I thought I'd bring it up. All security issues aside, the problems of child slavery and sexual slavery should be more than enough to at least justify a "go slow" approach to this ports deal.
A week or so before last Christmas I saw an HBO Sports special with Bryant Gumbel about children being enslaved to work as camel jockeys in the UAE. Lots of hidden camera footage was included, and although I can't link to any online video from the special - there doesn't seem to be any - I can provide some other sources of information about this problem:
UAE Slavery and Human Trafficking from The Conservative Voice.
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery from a US State Department report.
Child Camel Jockeys in the UAE from antislavery.org (includes photos).
86 Kids Rescued From Slavery in UAE from the AP via Fox News.
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