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February 23, 2006
Obligatory Seriousness on Dubai Ports
I'm with the President on this one, and I think this among a number of issues demonstrates the difference between himself, the party, various conservative ideologues and the hoi polloi of the Right. So let me say it straight out, all of the objections to the sale of P&O to Dubai Ports is reactionary bigotry hiding behind a mask of security consciousness.
Now I will grant that the idea of selling a publically traded British firm to an Arab government controlled entity would raise some eyebrows among us capitalists. But then again, who else is going to buy it? This is, in the end, global enterprise but not of the sort which should be more alarming such as the Russian Federation's nationalization of Yukos Oil. So far, I've heard no outcry from the Brits or any suggestion that this was anything other than a voluntary transaction. Then again, I wouldn't look very far considering the shaky footing upon which I think the detractors are standing.
If Homeland Security doesn't have the final word on the rules and regs surrounding the operations of the US ports involved in this transaction, whose fault is that? Are we to assume that there is some magic an Arab port manager can get away with that somebody else cannot? And pray tell me how the UAE is going to get 22,000 employees to change what they've been doing and become operationally dangerous to the USA? There aren't radical islamists working the docks in New Orleans, unless something radical has changed in the Longshoreman's business that we've been unaware of.
Unawareness is clearly the call sign for all the noise surrounding this deal. How exactly is it that Senators from South Dakota figure in to this calculus? Since when has South Dakota had expertise in ports? They're about as landlocked a state as ever existed in the lower 48.
You want an All American company to run the ports? Yeah right. We don't care. Number one is Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Number Two is Singapore's PSA International. Number three is now DP World, post-acquisition. You can't even find out who rounds out the dozen. Go ahead. Try and find out - you've got as much internet as I do. We don't care about that maritime economy, just like we don't make the shortwave radios.
This political bigotry is a lousy way to show interest.
Posted by mbowen at February 23, 2006 07:08 AM
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Comments
Most of the opposition is anti-arab bias IMO. However, I wonder how much truth/relevance is behind this: "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."
Link: www.breitbart.com - Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement
Posted by: Matt at February 23, 2006 09:10 AM
Whizbang fisks that 'secret agreement' nonsense.
They didn't have a "secret agreement" they had an agreement to keep trade secrets. The difference between the two is about as large as the difference between Billy Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
The agreement (by the idiot reporter's own admission) was "routine." The exact terms of the deal were not made public. Imagine that. Terms of deals like this are never made public. Heck, terms of your average lawsuit in civil court are not made public.
Posted by: Cobb ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mdcbowen.org/cobb/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 23, 2006 09:39 AM
Whizbang fisks that 'secret agreement' nonsense.
They didn't have a "secret agreement" they had an agreement to keep trade secrets. The difference between the two is about as large as the difference between Billy Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
The agreement (by the idiot reporter's own admission) was "routine." The exact terms of the deal were not made public. Imagine that. Terms of deals like this are never made public. Heck, terms of your average lawsuit in civil court are not made public.
Posted by: Cobb at February 23, 2006 09:40 AM