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Clinton aides had hand in Dubai deal Clinton advisers' outside lobbying work for firm to take over defense plants accents their awkward position BY GLENN THRUSH Newsday Washington Bureau September 14, 2006 WASHINGTON -- In the spring, when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was denouncing the Dubai Ports World deal, a consulting firm run by her top advisers was quietly lobbying for a Dubai takeover of two U.S. defense plants, Newsday has learned. The Glover Park Group, whose principals include Clinton insiders Howard Wolfson, Joe Lockhart and Gigi Georges, was paid about $100,000 to help the government-owned Dubai International Capital Corp....

President Bush approved a deal to allow a company from Dubai, the country that was forced to withdraw from the Portgate deal, to take over American plants that make parts for jets and tanks for the United States. Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, a country that continues to pay money to the families of homicide bombers and to the Hamas terrorist group. It appears to have been protecting Osama bin Laden in the late 1990s for some period of time. America was unable to bomb Osama's hideout because he was meeting with officials of the government of...

The Ports and the President by William J. Murray The transfer of the operation of six American ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became a major controversy, with virtually the entire Congress on one side and the President on the other. Both Republican House Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist have started the process of passing laws to ban the transfer, while the President stands by the decision of the Treasury. Democrat Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer of New York also wanted the deal blocked and have accused the President of continually allowing...

Dubai is threatening retaliation against American strategic and commercial interests if Washington blocks its $6.8 billion takeover of operations at several U.S. ports. As the House Appropriations Committee yesterday marked up legislation to kill Dubai Ports World’s acquisition of Britain’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), the emirate let it be known that it is preparing to hit back hard if necessary. A source close to the deal said members of Dubai’s royal family are furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal. “They’re saying, ‘All we’ve done for you guys, all...

PROTECTIONISTS, REJOICE! The dastardly United Arab Emirates company that would have presumed to unload containers of underwear and toothpaste on U.S. soil has backed down, and it will now divest its U.S. port interests to an American entity. Rest assured, the nation is now safe from dangerous Middle Eastern accountants and port logistics specialists. Dubai Ports World did what was necessary, if not necessarily fair, on Thursday by agreeing to give up the U.S. operations of its newly acquired British ports company. The House Appropriations Committee had voted 62 to 2 on Wednesday to block the deal; a similar bill...

Some commentators insist that the opposition to the Dubai Ports deal was much ado about nothing and was simply ignorance of the way ports and terminals function. They insist that the whole sale was just about management of several terminals - nothing which would effect homeland security.Question: If this ports deal was really nothing serious, why was the Coast Guard initially worried and opposed to the deal? It would seem from the Coast Guard's initial concern that there is much more at stake with this deal then some are willing to admit. It certainly indicates that security concerns to this...

Dubai Ports Worls to divest itself of all American interests

WASHINGTON — The Republican congresswoman from Florida wanted to make one thing absolutely clear: Her argument was not whether the little house in Hope, Ark., should be designated as a national historic site. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite on Wednesday delayed for hours the House passage of a bill designating President Clinton's boyhood home as a national landmark. Brown-Waite said she wanted to draw attention to Clinton's involvement in a deal allowing a Dubai-owned company to help manage six U.S. seaports. "It is not against President Clinton, it is not against (the resolution), but rather I wish we had more time so...

House Appropiations Committe voted to block Dubai deal

Efforts by Republican leaders to hold off legislation challenging a Dubai-owned firm's acquisition of operations at six major U.S. ports collapsed today when House leaders agreed to allow a vote next week that could kill the deal. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) will attach the legislation as early as Wednesday to a must-pass emergency spending bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A House vote on the measure next week will set up a direct confrontation with President Bush, who has vowed to veto any bill delaying or stopping Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and...

Chinese Got Long Beach Deal! By Staff Investigative Journalists LONG BEACH DESK - The Long Beach Naval Station was tentatively placed on the Military Base Closure-List by president George Bush in 1991. President Bill Clinton, closed the naval base last in 1993. That resulted in the loss to Long Beach, California of 17,500 military and civilian jobs. The economic impact of the of loss was $52.5 million and drove the California economy into the tank. It has never recovered. Between 1995-1996, during the heat of the Clinton-Gore Campaign fund raising activity, the Clinton administration actively intervened to make sure...

There now looks to be about as much chance of the UAE government-owned Dubai Ports World taking over several ports in the United States as there does of George W. Bush running for a third term.  In other words, zero. Zilch Nada. Zip. Forget it.  Isn't going to happen. For the #1 reason why, let's go to the polls.  Not some slanted CBS poll...where only Democrats are asked Bush-hating questions that are written in order to solicit a specific answer.  No, today we have a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll.   And in that poll, 69% oppose letting the Arab firm take...

Move over PortGate... Indianapolis International Airport, a facility that serves more than 8 million passengers every year, is operated by a foreign-owned company. And the company has stated contractual obligations at the airport -- which include law enforcement!

Halliburton Eyed for Dubai Ports Deal The Bush administration is working behind the scenes to defuse the Dubai Ports World controversy by having the UAE-based firm team up with an American company. According to the New York Daily News, which first reported the new White House strategy on Saturday, "one snag may be that sources say the U.S. company best equipped to partner with DP World is Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney." But a role for Halliburton may not be such a "snag" after all, since the controversial company's involvement has already been endorsed by leading ports...

"...displays of Islam’s violent intolerance have been coming thick and fast the last few decades, and can be found on every page of history going back to the 7th century, when Islam began its expansion with the blood of several hundred decapitated Jews."

The controversy about the UAE-based company projected to take over operations in a number of US seaports, quickly –and unfortunately- dove into domestic politics. The issue was turned into trusting or not the will and the capacity of the Government, particularly the executive branch to “secure the nation against Terrorists.” And once the debate mutates into investigating the intentions of the policy makers –particularly the President and his assistants – regarding the prosecution of the War on Terror, most of the exchange diverts to “politics” instead of “policies.” The seaports management issue at this point is framed by some more...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – The Defense Department will participate in a re-review of a slated acquisition of shipping terminal operations at six major U.S. ports by a United Arab Emirates-owned firm, a senior Pentagon official said here today. It's too early to say, DoD spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters, which department representatives would work with the re-review that's to be conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. DoD elements were part of the first review also. Dubai Ports World, owned by the United Arab Emirates government, bought British-owned ports operator Peninsular and Oriental Steam...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     Office of Public AffairsU.S. Coast Guard Press Release Date: Feb. 27, 2006Contact: Cmdr. Jeff Carter(202) 267-1933 STATEMENT BY COAST GUARD SPOKESMAN CMDR. JEFF CARTER ON COAST GUARD PORT TRANSACTION ANALYSIS  WASHINGTON - "What is being quoted is an excerpt of a broader Coast Guard intelligence analysis that was performed early on as part of its due diligence process. The excerpts made public earlier today, when taken out of context, do not reflect the full, classified analysis performed by the Coast Guard. That analysis concludes ‘that DP World's acquisition of P&O, in and of itself, does...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2006 – A United Arab Emirates-owned firm that's slated to take over shipping terminal operations at six major U.S. ports requested an extended U.S. government review of the transaction, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States announced in a news release yesterday. The committee "welcomed the announcement by Dubai Ports World that it will submit for review its proposed acquisition of control of U.S. port terminal operations," the release stated. Headed by the U.S. Treasury Department, CFIUS inspects sales of firms that could affect national security. The review, which the White House accepted, will include...

Dubai funds Neil Bush's company Posted: February 27, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jerome R. Corsi © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Investors from the United Arab Emirates helped fund the $23 million Neil Bush raised for Ignite!, the learning systems company that holds lucrative No Child Left Behind Act contracts in Florida and Texas. The "Cow" is an Ignite! portable computer designed to work in a classroom, providing interactive instruction aimed at improving students' scores on standardized tests. If you loved Billy Carter and "Billy Beer," you're certain to love Neil Bush and the "Ignite! Cow." Neil Bush's frequent travels to Dubai...

President George W. Bush has declared that he would veto any congressional attempt to derail a contract allowing a Middle Eastern company to run six major U.S. seaports. His administration has approved the $6.8 billion deal between the London-based P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) and Dubai Ports World—which is owned by the United Arab Emirates—to operate ports in Baltimore, Miami, Newark, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia. The opposition to the deal has been instant, vociferous, and unprecedentedly bipartisan. The resistance to the proposed transaction within his own party is likely to exceed the rebellion last fall over...

Congressman Charles Rangel is criticizing the White House for not knowing about the Dubai ports deal until after it was approved. Appearing on Friday night's edition of "Inside City Hall," he came down hard on President George W. Bush for not taking enough time to review the deal, particularly in light of the country’s link to terrorism. "You have got to be some sort of an idiot to believe that 45 days is too long to investigate them and, to do it publicly so that people will feel assured and confident,” said Rangel. Congressman Rangel also says the Bush administration...

Dubai Ports – Strategic Implications Author David J. Jonsson© 2006 The Strategic Implications The goal of Islamists, following in the footsteps of Muhammad is to create the Islamic kingdom of God on earth. The strategy to obtain this goal in our lifetime includes the control of the world's energy infrastructure, the transportation systems, currency, media, elections, immigration and education. The control of the port facilities is hence a critical element. Foreign ownership, in and of itself, although important, is not as significant as the strategy and goals of the owner. In the case of DP World ownership, my hypothesis is...

On Sunday, the Australian government issued the following alert to its citizens: "We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the United Arab Emirates because of the high threat of terrorist attack. We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks against Western interests in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Commercial and public areas frequented by foreigners are possible terrorist targets." The United States has approved a business deal that would turn over the operation of six major American ports to a company that is owned by the UAE, the very country Australians are to be...

The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company's taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent. The department's early objections were settled later in the government's review of the $6.8 billion deal after Dubai-owned DP World agreed to a series of security restrictions. The company indefinitely has postponed its takeover to give President Bush time to convince Congress that the deal does not pose any increased risks to the U.S. from terrorism. Some lawmakers have pressed for...

President Bush is on the defensive on national security for the first time in his presidency over his administration's decision to approve a Middle Eastern company's bid to manage U.S. ports, leaving Democrats and Republicans all running to his right on the issue.     Republicans are openly talking about bills to halt the deal and sound eager to override a threatened presidential veto, while Democrats say the administration's decision cuts deeply into Mr. Bush's national security credentials.     Democrats even turned around White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's barb last month that they have a "pre-9/11 view of the world."

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Friday it won't reconsider its approval for a United Arab Emirates company to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports. The former head of the Sept. 11 commission said the deal "never should have happened." Opponents, including the agency that runs New York and New Jersey ports, took their case to court, while the company, Dubai Ports World, stepped up efforts to change the minds of congressional critics. The president's national security adviser said the White House would keep trying to persuade lawmakers — there's more time since the company offered to delay...

NEW YORK - The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the center of a growing controversy over its proposed management of US port terminals, is one of the world's most prolific arms buyers and a multi-billion-dollar military market both for the United States and Western Europe. The energy-rich Persian Gulf nation is currently taking delivery of about US$8.4 billion worth of military equipment, mostly state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, ordered from the US ($6.4 billion) and France ($2 billion) over the past five years. The delivery of 80 US- built F-16 E/F fighter planes - described as one of the biggest single arms packages...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Bush administration was ordered by a U.S. federal judge on Friday to explain why it did not give New Jersey officials documents and information Washington had about a deal allowing an Arab company to take over management of a container terminal in Newark. U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares signed an order demanding to know why the government did not carry out a full investigation into the change of ownership of the container terminal at Port Newark. The judge set a hearing for Wednesday and said in the order he would issue a preliminary injunction blocking...

Not My Dog My Two Cents on our Ambivalent Islamophobia By David J. Aland 24 February 2006 For as much as one may love the genteel lunacy of Steve Martin’s humor, his recent take on the Blake Edwards / Peter Sellers “Pink Panther” franchise falls well short of the originals. With the possible exception of about five minutes in the middle of the film, beginning and ending with a hapless bicyclist and a hard-boiled egg, the latest “Pink Panther” movie tries too hard and ends up overworking jokes that were not all that funny anyway. But who needs cinematic humor...

President Bush is in trouble with much of his base for approving the sale of a British shipping firm that runs commercial container operations at six major U.S. ports to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company. I believe the main reason he is under fire from the right is that he has a nagging credibility problem concerning his inscrutable immigration policy. To be sure, Bush is under fire from the left as well, but their opposition has little to do with national security concerns and everything to do with partisan politics. Most conservatives, I think, see Bush as enormously committed...