Thursday, February 23, 2006
Port sale stink just wont go away
In the Senate, both parties had a good time ripping into this bad deal. They even got to talk with Michael Jackson (No, not the Gloved One).
Mr. Levin said President Bush's threat to veto any Congressional measure to upset the deal with Dubai Ports World simply showed how "out of touch" Mr. Bush is, with the American people and with members of Congress, for whom he shows "presidential disdain."In related news, The Guardian has the details of the sale agreement and wouldn't you know it, they left out parts that other people had to follow.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said he found it "remarkable" that the White House seemed to have been surprised by the furor over the impending port deal. "We cannot risk contracting out our national security," he said.
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.But they are such nice guys, they don't really need records available to American courts.
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.
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