Posted on 03/10/2006 7:37:43 AM PST by Solson
WASHINGTON - A Dubai-owned company will control 23 American ports - not six - as a result of the deal approved by a Bush administration panel in January. The takeover of the British company Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. involves almost every major Atlantic seaport from Portland, Maine, to Miami and along the entire Gulf Coast, according to an attorney fighting the deal. The list includes Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, which have handled about 40 percent of the war materiel the Army has shipped to combat theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also includes Norfolk, Va., home to most of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic fleet, along with three seaports in Louisiana that handle massive shipments of crude oil. In the spreading controversy, it was known that the British firm being bought by Dubai Ports World runs operations at New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Attorney Joseph Muldoon III represents Eller & Co., a Miami-based shipping firm that is fighting the transaction here and in Britain's highest court. In an interview, the attorney said Eller & Co. does not want to become an unwilling partner of DP World's Miami operations. Muldoon told The News he unsuccessfully appealed two months ago to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., whom he knows personally, and also saw staff members for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to stop the sale on national security grounds. "I'll check it out," Muldoon quoted Warner as responding. "Finally, I went to Sen. [Charles E.] Schumer because he is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the Treasury Department board which approved this thing. If this hadn't been for Sen. Schumer," Muldoon said in an interview, "this issue would never had gotten any traction. "My client, and I personally, believe that the seaports of this country should not be run by a foreign government," Muldoon said. He said claims by the Bush administration that security is not involved is a myth. "The port operator is the one who lays out the security plan," he said, "and the Coast Guard and other government operations follow suit." In London, Eller & Co. attorneys have been given the right to appeal the deal by Britain's highest court. It was not until Muldoon called Schumer's office three weeks ago that it bloomed into an issue that threatens the president's hold on Republican majorities in the House and Senate. "I had an instinct about this situation," Schumer said, "and it was to keep it as bipartisan as possible. So I went first to [Sen. Tom] Coburn [R-Okla.] and he was very concerned." Muldoon said "Schumer was hanging out there all alone on it until" Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., announced his opposition. King is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Both national and statewide polls indicate the planned takeover of operations of American ports has helped plunge Bush to the lowest ratings of his presidency. A New York poll done by the Republican-oriented Strategic Vision LLC gives Bush an overall approval rating of 24 percent. National polls have Bush at between 36 and 39 percent. In the state survey, 81 percent of respondents think an act of terrorism is more likely if the Dubai ports deal goes through. Although the Bush administration officially approved the deal Jan. 16, DP World, the company owned by rulers of the United Arab Emirates, has requested the United States conduct a 45-day review of the transaction in an effort to defuse opposition. Schumer and King are sponsoring nearly identical bills that would empower Congress to block the deal if Congress is dissatisfied with the results of the review. Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, was an early supporter of King's bill, which now has 97 co-sponsors. Backers include almost the entire state delegation. e-mail: dturner@buffnews.com
Bureau assistant Sara Blumberg contributed to this article.
The bottom line is this was a business deal UNDERCUT by a competitor of DP World. This was purely a lobbyist play by Eller. If, in the end they get this deal, there should be a serious examination of the money trail from Eller to Schumer, Clinton, et al.
FYI.
Isn't Schumer wife the transportation sec for NY?
"Frim control of 23 Ports"?
What the hell is this author smoking?
Check out this interesting read on the future of the world wide shipping industry. BTW, did you know that the NY/NJ Port Authority several years ago negotiated a deal with another terminal operator promising to make them the major terminal operation at their installation? It appears the Port Authority and perhaps several politicians have been bought and paid for.
http://rru.worldbank.org/Documents/Toolkits/ports_mod2.pdf
Reference Box 20
I believe you are right.
...there should be a serious examination of the money trail from Eller to Schumer, Clinton, et al.
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Never happen, IMHO. The political class of Washington continues to PROTECT the Clintons, et al.
Schumer's wife heads the Department of Transportation for RINO Bloomberg.
Chuckie really went to bat for the company that wants to dominate the terminal traffic at his wife's port.
http://www.senate.gov/~schumer/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/PR00370.html
1.7 Billion for a project that at the time benefited really only one company.
The really brilliant aspect is they got the "Conservative pundits" and talk radio hosts to do their PR dirty work for them. And as frosting they now make their taking over at least the US Senate not only possible but probable. Way to destroy yourselves "Republicans". Way to fall hook, line and sinker for your political foes PR ploys.
How about the money trail from the Treasury secretary and the Maritime manager, that leads directly to their own pockets if the deal had gone through? Neither of these men is in a neutral position, with regards to making a decision whether or not this deal was good or bad for the US.
I must disagree. I think that is a little dramatic. The most successful ploy in history???? This is a port deal, nothing more, nothing less. Won't even be remembered by most people in 2 months.
A Dubai-owned company will control 23 American ports
See! It's worse than I thought! They'll "CONTROL" 23 ports! From Portland Maine to Beaumont Texas! They'll have total say over the navigation of our water ways and what comes and goes! It's clearly implied in this obviously unbiased reporting!
The list includes Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, which have handled about 40 percent of the war materiel the Army has shipped to combat theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Why GOOD GOLLY!!! They'll sure as the sun rises in the east cut off supplies to our brave fighting men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq! Why, our soldiers will be cut off from our support if this deal goes through! (It's been killed, granted, but I forgot that as soon as I started hyper-ventilating over this latest headline!)
With this type of iron grip on our ports, it's only a matter of time before they make me put a red crescent on my sea monster floaty when I go to the beach.
IMPEACH BUSH NOW!!!
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Strange, no one seemed concerned about this deal. One that could stiffel competition and put a lot of the US terminal traffic in the hands of one company.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1593816/posts
Article in today's Miami Herald says Eller is in the running to pick up the deal.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14062860.htm
I doubt it very much my fellow freeper. When the hysteria about the Ports will settle down; the democrats will be seen again by the majority of voters in who they really are “Not to be trusted on national security and defense issues”.
Old tactic. The Dems did the same thing to Microsoft.
Maybe you should go over to LP or CP where your views are welcome.
bttt
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