Posted on 02/12/2006 12:57:39 PM PST by Chong
Bush administration not objecting to deal involving N.J., Phila. ports
By TED BRIDIS Associated Press Published: Sunday, February 12, 2006 Updated: Sunday, February 12, 2006
— A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism.
The Bush administration considers the United Arab Emirates an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
The $6.8 billion sale is expected to be approved Monday. The British company is the fourth largest ports company in the world and its sale would affect commercial U.S. port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
DP World said it won approval from a secretive U.S. government panel that considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry.
The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States “thoroughly reviewed the potential transaction and concluded they had no objection,” the company said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The committee earlier agreed to consider concerns about the deal as expressed by a Miami-based company, Eller & Co., according to Eller's lawyer, Michael Kreitzer. Eller is a business partner with the British shipping giant but was not in the running to buy the ports company.
The committee, which could have recommended that President Bush block the purchase, includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.
The State Department describes the United Arab Emirates as a vital partner in the fight against terrorism.
(Excerpt) Read more at pressofatlanticcity.com ...
What can be done to stop this? If we let 6 major ports be controlled by a terrorist-sponsoring nation, we're not serious about the War on Terror.
The war on drugs? If that is 'success' then someone needs to update dictionary definitions.
Illegal immigration? I have posted in the past how the govt. provides ITIN numbers to illegal immigrants so that they can pay taxes, and to date the borders are still as porous and the government does NOT want to take any real measures to fix it.
The war on terrorism? Well, this one is still up in the air, however there are some sizeable inconsistencies. For one the largest fiscal base of terrorism is ....Saudi Arabia. One of the biggest breeding grounds of Islamic terror (particularly due to the Madarassas) is ......Pakistan (which by the way already has the 'Islamic bomb' that is so talked about, is headed by a person who is under constant peril from subversive elements, has the ISI running many things there,and has a deep pool of anti-American sentiment among its population). The Saudis and Pakistanis happen to be our 'allies' by the way. Anyways, we'll see how the WOT turns out, however looking at history I wonder how it will turn out. I pray all turns out well though. This port plan is interesting. It would be far easier (by far) for an Al Queda member to penetrate the UAE company than normal.
This stinks of being an 'economic' decision that did not take other factors into consideration. This is tantamount to putting a Chinese firm as head of security at Los Alamos, and who knows ....maybe that will be the case next week. After all, it is 'cheaper.'
What's even worse is that UAE supports Iran...
"According to Al-Bayan newspaper, statistics issued by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry show that the value of the total non-oil exchanges between the UAE and Iran hit $3.3 billion last year..."
http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Iran/194313
Amazing! Maybe there's hope for (some) DUmmies after all???
"But this will all be fixed once Rush gives us divine guidance."
LOLOLOLOL!!! With his talent on loan from GODDUH?
Legislation will hopefully be passed because....
"there are presently no citizenship requirements, which he said permits foreign companies who are or become partners in domestic terminal operations to employ security officers who are not Americans."
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