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Bush cabinet ties to UAE company that intends to take over our ports

Cassapolis

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Bush's cronyism is rampant people. OPEN YOUR EYES!

BY MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Breaking news update: Bush shrugs off objections to port deal

WASHINGTON - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

The ties raised more concerns about the decision to give port control to a company owned by a nation linked to the 9/11 hijackers.

"The more you look at this deal, the more the deal is called into question," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said the deal was rubber-stamped in advance - even before DP World formally agreed to buy London's P&O port company.

Besides operations in New York and Jersey, Dubai would also run port facilities in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore and Miami.

The political fallout over the deal only grows.

"It's particularly troubling that the United States would turn over its port security not only to a foreign company, but a state-owned one," said western New York's Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee. Reynolds is responsible for helping Republicans keep their majority in the House.

Snow's Treasury Department runs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which includes 11 other agencies.

"It always raises flags" when administration officials have ties to a firm, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) said, but insisted that stopping the deal was more important.

The Daily News has learned that lawmakers also want to know if a detailed 45-day probe should have been conducted instead of one that lasted no more than 25 days.

According to a 1993 congressional measure, the longer review is mandated when the company is owned by a foreign government and the purchase "could result in control of a person engaged in interstate commerce in the U.S. that could affect the national security of the U.S."

Congressional sources said the President has until March 2 to trigger that harder look.

"The most important thing is for someone to explain how this is consistent with our national security," Fossella said.


we no longer have a participatory democracy.
 
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Cassapolis said:
Bush's cronyism is rampant people. OPEN YOUR EYES!

BY MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Breaking news update: Bush shrugs off objections to port deal

WASHINGTON - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

The ties raised more concerns about the decision to give port control to a company owned by a nation linked to the 9/11 hijackers.

"The more you look at this deal, the more the deal is called into question," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said the deal was rubber-stamped in advance - even before DP World formally agreed to buy London's P&O port company.

Besides operations in New York and Jersey, Dubai would also run port facilities in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore and Miami.

The political fallout over the deal only grows.

"It's particularly troubling that the United States would turn over its port security not only to a foreign company, but a state-owned one," said western New York's Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee. Reynolds is responsible for helping Republicans keep their majority in the House.

Snow's Treasury Department runs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which includes 11 other agencies.

"It always raises flags" when administration officials have ties to a firm, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) said, but insisted that stopping the deal was more important.

The Daily News has learned that lawmakers also want to know if a detailed 45-day probe should have been conducted instead of one that lasted no more than 25 days.

According to a 1993 congressional measure, the longer review is mandated when the company is owned by a foreign government and the purchase "could result in control of a person engaged in interstate commerce in the U.S. that could affect the national security of the U.S."

Congressional sources said the President has until March 2 to trigger that harder look.

"The most important thing is for someone to explain how this is consistent with our national security," Fossella said.


we no longer have a participatory democracy.

This is what love of country is playing second fiddle to.
 
The ties don't surprise me. Nor do the attempts to distance Bush from the decision by taking pains to point out that he didn't even know about it until the deal was done. Damage control, anyone?

President Bush was unaware that a controversial deal to sell shipping operations at six major U.S. seaportsto a United Arab Emirates-owned firm was in the works until it was approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185677,00.html

How much do you want to bet that the next step will be for Bush to trigger the 45 day review (which should have been done to begin with) as a way to appease Congress and avoid a battle that he won't win?

From the same source:

But the opponents of the sale say they can count enough votes in Congress to override a veto.

"I will fight harder than ever for this legislation, and if it is vetoed I will fight as hard as I can to override it," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. King and Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said they will introduce emergency legislation to suspend the ports deal.
 
I'm not much of a fan of the "Bush is owned by the oil companies" conspiracy theorists, but this bit of news from today should make everyone defending Bush ask what the hell is he really up to:

Bushes Promises to Break Maidenhead On His Veto Pen If Congress Acts to Halt Sale of Port Control to UAE Company

President Bush yesterday vowed to use his first-ever veto to strike any law that Congress passes to block a deal allowing an Arab state-owned company to operate six major U.S. seaports, amid growing bipartisan efforts to thwart the plan for security reasons.
"If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward," the president said in a brief but firm statement on the White House South Lawn.
Mr. Bush said questioning the deal because it involves United Arab Emirates company makes no sense, given that a British company now does the job.

Damn if that ain't a reason to kick George out of office. He suddenly can't see the difference between a long term ally and a towelhead terrorist supporting state in the middle of Islam. He's either too stupid, or totally corrupt.

Or both. I've never ruled that out.

But it gets better...

Meanwhile, Arab-American leaders condemned criticism of the port deal as anti-Arab bigotry.
"What started this and drives this is bigotry," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.
Mr. Zogby said that uninformed, pandering politicians were doing great damage to U.S. attempts at diplomacy in the Middle East.
"If you take an election year, and fear of national security ready to be exploited, and Arabs, and put it together: You've got a pretty lethal brew that politicians are ready to stir up," Mr. Zogby said.

The Repubicans are playing the Race Card against the Democrats. That's delicious.

Also, I do recall when the Long Beach Naval Station was closed, and China was trying to buy the area and build and control an expanded shipping port on the site. The Republicans were up in arms at the thought of COSCO having control of a mainland US port, which would give China an enhanced ability to import spies and export all sorts of controlled things.

The arguments against COSCO were perfectly valid. Why have the Republicans decided that they're not applicable when their oil buddies have an itch? Except in the case of Dubai Ports World, they might be transporting terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and not just spies.
 
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