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A Harriet Miers moment (Gaffney on UAE Port Deal)
Townhall.com ^ | 2-20-2006 | Frank Gaffney, Jr

Posted on 02/20/2006 3:14:17 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite

The federal bureaucracy has made a strategic mistake that threatens to cost the President dearly. The question is not whether the ill-advised decision taken last week by the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (known by its acronym, CFIUS, pronounced syphius) will be undone. Rather, the question is: By whom -- and at what political cost to Mr. Bush?

In the latest of a series of approvals of questionable foreign takeovers of American interests, CFIUS has given the green light to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to acquire contracts to manage port facilities in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans. The company, Dubai Ports World, would do so by purchasing a British concern, Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (“P and O”).

Experts have long identified America’s sea ports as weak links in the chain of our homeland security. With their proximity to major U.S. population centers, expensive infrastructure vital to the regional and, in many cases, national economy and their throughput of large quantities of poorly monitored cargo, they are prime targets for terror.

As a result, a case can be made that it is a mistake to have foreign entities responsible for any aspect of such ports, including the management of their docks, stevedore operations and terminals. After all, that duty affords abundant opportunities to insinuate personnel and/or shipping containers that can pose a threat to this country. Even though the company in question may not be directly responsible for port security, at least some of their employees have to be read in on the relevant plans, potentially compromising the latter irreparably.

At least the previous foreign contractors were from Britain, a country that was on our side before September 11, 2001. The same cannot be said of the United Arab Emirates, whose territory was used for most of the planning and financing of the 9/11 attacks. While the UAE’s government is currently depicted as a friend and ally in the so-called war on terror, its country remains awash with Islamofascist recruiters and adherents – people all too willing to exploit any new opportunity to do us harm.

Since a column raising an alarm about CFIUS’ decision appeared in this space last week, three new factors have come to light that compound the strategic folly of the UAE deal:

O First, in addition to the six affected ports mentioned above, two others would also have part of their operations managed by DP World – on behalf of none other than the U.S. Army. Under a newly extended contract, the owner of P and O will manage the movement of heavy armor, helicopters and other military materiel through the Texas seaports of Beaumont and Corpus Christie. How much would our enemies like to be able to sabotage such shipments?

O Second, while advocates of the stealthy CFIUS decision-making process point to the involvement of the Defense Department in its DP World decision, it is unclear at what level this bizarre proposition was reviewed in the Pentagon. Many top jobs remain unfilled by presidential appointees. Past experience suggests the job may have fallen to lower-level career bureaucrats who give priority to maintaining good relations with their foreign “clients,” like the UAE.

O Then, there is the matter of financing the DP World takeover of Peninsula and Oriental. The UAE evidently intends to raise nearly all of the $6.8 billion price for P and O on international capital markets. It must be asked: Who will the foreign investors be, and might they have malign intentions towards the U.S.? If American sources of capital are being sought, will the possible danger this transaction may create for this country be properly disclosed? For that matter, will the underwriters, Barclays and Deutchebank, reveal to prospective funders the real risk that the deal will ultimately fall through?

In fact, that seems virtually certain now that talk radio, the blogosphere and the public have become aware of – and white hot about – this transaction. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle and of Capitol Hill have made known their determination to prevent the transfer of control of U.S. ports to the UAE. In particular, Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer have been quick to seize on this issue as an opportunity to burnish their national security credentials at the expense of President Bush and his party.

So, the question recurs: How long will it take before Mr. Bush cuts his losses? This could be accomplished in one of three ways: He could reverse the decision himself (perhaps by directing CFIUS to reconsider its initial recommendation). He could encourage and sign into law legislation barring foreign ownership or management of U.S. port facilities (akin to the rules governing other critical infrastructure). Or he could quietly encourage the UAE to do as Communist China did last year with respect to the Unocal purchase – withdraw the offer itself, sparing the country in question (and its friends here) the embarrassment of having its behavior carefully scrutinized and its offer spurned in a high-profile way.

Call it a Harriet Meirs moment. Politics being the art of the possible, it is time to recognize that the Dubai Ports World deal is neither strategically sensible nor politically doable. It is time to pull the plug, and to reform the secretive interagency CFIUS process that allowed this fiasco in the first place.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cfius; frankgaffney; gaffney; ports; uae
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1 posted on 02/20/2006 3:14:20 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite
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To: raybbr; DTogo; AZ_Cowboy; Itzlzha; Stellar Dendrite; NRA2BFree; Happy2BMe; Spiff; Pelham; ...

ping


2 posted on 02/20/2006 3:14:48 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: Stellar Dendrite

Good for Gaffney. He's right on point.


3 posted on 02/20/2006 3:16:39 PM PST by Czar (StillFedUptotheTeeth@Washington)
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To: DJ MacWoW; CobaltBlue; Esther Ruth

ping


4 posted on 02/20/2006 3:18:18 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: Stellar Dendrite

And they wonder why people don't trust the government. Damn fools.


5 posted on 02/20/2006 3:18:31 PM PST by Pittsburg Phil
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To: Stellar Dendrite
Or he could quietly encourage the UAE to do as Communist China did last year with respect to the Unocal purchase – withdraw the offer itself, sparing the country in question (and its friends here) the embarrassment of having its behavior carefully scrutinized and its offer spurned in a high-profile way.

I suspect that there will be some sort of unamed problem and Dubai will have to regretfully pullout.

6 posted on 02/20/2006 3:24:01 PM PST by DJ MacWoW (If you think you know what's coming next....You don't know Jack.)
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To: Stellar Dendrite
thanks for ping.

To paraphrase a previous expression. "It's the money, stupid." Previous moment = Making China a permanent preferred trade partner.

Reagan Main Street Republicans are gone with the wind. Wall Street investor Republicans and Democrats are in charge.

7 posted on 02/20/2006 3:24:30 PM PST by ex-snook (God of the Universe, God of Creation, God of Love, thank you for life.)
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To: Pittsburg Phil
beware of the bureaucrats
8 posted on 02/20/2006 3:26:42 PM PST by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Stellar Dendrite
We were called sexist elitists on Harriet Miers, wonder what names we'll be called for opposing this one?
9 posted on 02/20/2006 3:27:20 PM PST by SwinneySwitch (Terroristas-beyond your expectations!)
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To: Stellar Dendrite

Bush has seriously undermined his credibility with this insane move. Can he be trusted to prosecute this war? Ain't sure no more...


10 posted on 02/20/2006 3:28:26 PM PST by Lexington Green (Hollywood Patriot - Now THERE'S an oxymoron.)
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To: SwinneySwitch

"We were called sexist elitists on Harriet Miers, wonder what names we'll be called for opposing this one?"

I've seen "xenophobic" thrown about....


11 posted on 02/20/2006 3:31:16 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: Lexington Green

I think that proof came to light with his refusal to police the borders.


12 posted on 02/20/2006 3:31:27 PM PST by kenth
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To: Stellar Dendrite

Bush&Company are asleep at the wheel on this one. This is a no brainer. That is, unless you're a member of the contingent of Bush sycophant bedwetters, who believe there is nothing wrong with having 'the religion of peace' managing six of the biggest US ports of entry located around the homeland.


13 posted on 02/20/2006 3:31:31 PM PST by Reagan Man (Secure our borders;punish employers who hire illegals;stop all welfare to illegals)
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To: Stellar Dendrite
UAE Port Deal Makes Great Economic Sense (But Doesn't Stand a Chance Politically)

On Ports and Terminal Operators

Are We Losing America’s Greatness?

UAE port operations - perspectives and reality

14 posted on 02/20/2006 3:32:00 PM PST by Cannoneer No. 4 (Our enemies act on ecstatic revelations from their god. We act on the advice of lawyers.)
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To: Lexington Green
"...Bush has seriously undermined his credibility with this insane move..."

His credibility was already worthless to many of us for a long time. Face it folks, He is NOT a conservative and it appears to me to have a goal of totally removing any borders we have. I regret my four vote for him more than I have ever regreted any vote before.

15 posted on 02/20/2006 3:32:10 PM PST by devane617 (An Alley-Cat mind is a terrible thing to waste)
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To: SwinneySwitch
Someone in the White House is politically tone deaf it seems.

I opposed Meirs....and I oppose this sale...I wonder if I'll lose FRiends over this one.

16 posted on 02/20/2006 3:32:39 PM PST by Dog (What happened to the spirit of "Let's Roll"?)
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To: SwinneySwitch

Xenophobe as of yesterday...


17 posted on 02/20/2006 3:32:49 PM PST by DoughtyOne (If you don't want to be lumped in with those who commit violence in your name, take steps to end it.)
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To: Stellar Dendrite; Pittsburg Phil

Bush and company has become completely tone deaf. I guess Karl Rove has lost his usefulness.


18 posted on 02/20/2006 3:33:51 PM PST by demkicker (democrats and terrorists are familiar bedfellows)
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To: Stellar Dendrite
Bush is the stupidest President to ever occupy the WH.
19 posted on 02/20/2006 3:34:09 PM PST by devane617 (An Alley-Cat mind is a terrible thing to waste)
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To: demkicker

Someone is asleep at the switch..


20 posted on 02/20/2006 3:34:25 PM PST by Dog (What happened to the spirit of "Let's Roll"?)
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