Posted on 02/22/2006 6:19:30 PM PST by iPod Shuffle
Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement
Feb 22 9:03 PM US/Eastern
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By TED BRIDIS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
1d08c5bfc6d0@news.ap.org The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.
As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about "foreign operational direction" of its business at U.S. ports, the documents said. Those records broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of ports and equipment.
The administration did not require Dubai Ports to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate U.S. government requests. Outside legal experts said such obligations are routinely attached to U.S. approvals of foreign sales in other industries.
"They're not lax but they're not draconian," said James Lewis, a former U.S. official who worked on such agreements. If officials had predicted the firestorm of criticism over the deal, Lewis said, "they might have made them sound harder."
The conditions involving the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. were detailed in U.S. documents marked "confidential." Such records are regularly guarded as trade secrets, and it is highly unusual for them to be made public.
The concessions _ described previously by the Homeland Security Department as unprecedented among maritime companies _ reflect the close relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
The revelations about the negotiated conditions came as the White House acknowledged President Bush was unaware of the pending sale until the deal had already been approved by his administration.
Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House. He pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement, but some lawmakers said they still were determined to capsize it.
Dubai Port's top American executive, chief operating officer Edward H. Bilkey, said the company will do whatever the Bush administration asks to enhance shipping security and ensure the sale goes through. Bilkey said Wednesday he will work in Washington to persuade skeptical lawmakers they should endorse the deal; Senate oversight hearings already are scheduled.
"We're disappointed," Bikley told the AP in an interview. "We're going to do our best to persuade them that they jumped the gun. The UAE is a very solid friend, as President Bush has said."
Under the deal, the government asked Dubai Ports to operate American seaports with existing U.S. managers "to the extent possible." It promised to take "all reasonable steps" to assist the Homeland Security Department, and it pledged to continue participating in security programs to stop smuggling and detect illegal shipments of nuclear materials.
The administration required Dubai Ports to designate an executive to handle requests from the U.S. government, but it did not specify this person's citizenship.
It said Dubai Ports must retain paperwork "in the normal course of business" but did not specify a time period or require corporate records to be housed in the United States. Outside experts familiar with such agreements said such provisions are routine in other cases.
i)it allowed the US to use its facilities to attack Iran's oil terminals back in the '80s, and the Iranians retaliated by attacking some of their terminals;
ii)they assisted us in Gulf War I;
ii)they assisted us after 9/11 and throughout the war in Iraq.
I'm not saying we ought not to be cautious. And as others have noted, Bush's failure to even address let alone do something about border security doesn't inspire confidence. But if we start treating all Arabs as enemies than we will have a much bigger war on our hands than we have. While I ackowledge the satisfaction the clarity of such an outcome would provide, I doubt is good policy.
Tony is about the ONLY really calm person who is totally on board with this...and Tony does NOT hesitate to critsize Bush when he wants to..
OOPSY....Tony just admitted to Dan Bartlett that Griff had to "sneak" in to find out this information...yikes!
Tony has been very calm, but as you say, he seems to be saying that "nothing's gonna change," but then out of the other side of his (and others') mouths, we hear that this company is the only one that can "do it."
Well, do what?
If "nothing's gonna change," then why the hell is this such a specialized thing that no other company in the world can do "it?" It makes little sense. What the hell are they "doing?" That's not clear, and until it is, those that are skeptical have a very good position.
If you think that is a tantrum, tough.
AmishDude Enterprises will do it. We demand money up front and no accountability. Remember our motto: "Separating fools from their money since 2000!"
"The "White House" implies that it's a decision made by the administration. This was made by the bureaucracy, many levels deep and the President was kept out of the loop by law until the deal was done."
Yes, Bush has already asserted plausible deniability.
What a farce.
We're not supposed to know but Bush secretly made this company comply with any future investigation.
How about if I get out the map of Louisiana, subtract 4000 linear feet from 880 miles (440 on East and West banks between Head of Passes and Huey Long Bridge) and throw a dart?
I wsa hoping someone would pick up the reference :-;
Not that it will matter to you, but Congress MANDATED that the details cannot be discussed.
I know it won't change your mind, but at least I know you know the truth.
There are others but no American company wanted the business.
They probably consider it too much of a headache with all the regulation and union demands.
On second thought, it's probably 220 miles on East and West bank from Head of Passes to Huey Long Bridge, but the argument is the same.
If P&O only manages a tiny fraction of that distance, who's managing the rest?
The risk does not equal the benefit.
I am much angrier about the border issue myself and W's pc excuses over this port squabble
but i understand his reasoning on this
not so on not limiting immigration
This position that UAE is our ally is fine. But so is/was Saudi Arabia, and that's where the biggest of issues are!
All it takes is a few people in key places, people "pretending," and all hell can take place as a result.
That was exactly my thought.... :(
What part of "by law" don't you understand?
Have ya seen a topic that has have so many separate articles & discussions as this one has...???
Aha! The Secret Government Conspiracy. The pieces fall into place. The link to Roswell should be forthcoming as soon as interest in this business deal subsides to near zero--about noon tomorrow.
Do you consider it your job to warn everybody on FR not to post to me and others? This is not a chatroom, as you have been told before; we don't "do" that high school crap here.
Because from what I can see, that's all you do here, other than flit from thread to thread stirring up crap.
And since apparently you don't retain much:
You know the rules. When speaking of another poster, make sure you ping that poster.
See if you can remember that from now on.
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