Rats, Sinking Ship, Etc.

WaPo: Halliburton to move headquarters, CEO to Dubai

And why are they moving? According to this diary at dailykos, to skirt the laws of the United States by locating in the UAE where they can sell arms and nuclear technology to countries like Iran and Libya.

All of which is illegal in the US. Halliburton, subverting democracy in the pursuit of profit. Your federal dollars from the Iraq war at work.

Dick Cheney (Halliburton CEO 1995-2000; Halliburton unindicted conspirator, 2000-continuing) is only public enemy number two because Chimpy McMembersOnlyJacketWithThePresidentialSeal is public enemy number one.

Told You He'd Do It: Bush Approves Sale of Defense Contractor to Terror Funders

NYTimes: Bush Set to Approve Takeover of 9 Military Plants by Dubai

WASHINGTON, April 27 — President Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of nine plants in the United States that manufacture parts for American military vehicles and aircraft, say two administration officials familiar with the terms of the deal.

[]

[T]he plants in question are owned by Doncasters Group Ltd., a British company that is being purchased for $1.2 billion from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group by Dubai International Capital, which is owned by the United Arab Emirate government.

Because the plants make turbine blades for tanks and aircraft, the deal was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which sent it on to Mr. Bush himself for a decision, a step used only when the potential security risks or political considerations are particularly acute.

[]

One official who was briefed on the Doncasters transaction said there would be provisions in the agreement protecting American military secrets. But it was unclear whether that would satisfy Congressional objections. With nine Doncasters plants in Georgia and Connecticut making parts for American military contractors, the prospect of a takeover by the Dubai company has already caused nervousness among some lawmakers.

Representative John Barrow, Democrat of Georgia, likened the Doncasters deal to "outsourcing" part of the nation's industrial-military complex.

Yes, George "I'm the Decider" Bush has decided to let the foxes run the henhouse. The Dubai company taking over Doncasters is owned by the government of the UAE. These slimy bastards, according to the 9/11 Commission, met with Osama bin Laden in 1999. Money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system, and after 9/11 the UAE refused to cooperate with the US in tracking down Osama bin Laden's bank accounts. And these are the people George Bush thinks are appropriate to let into our military plants.

Moron of all morons.

Previous posts: Will Bush Outsource Defense Contracting to Dubai? (April 25, 2006)

Sale of Defense Contractor to Dubai Company in Bush's Hands (April 14, 2006)

Now We're Gonna Sell Our Tank Parts Manufacturing to Dubai (April 12, 2006)

Will Bush Outsource Defense Contracting to Dubai?

The decision to approve the deal to sell British-owned defense contractor Doncasters to a company owned by the government of Dubai has been on Bush's desk for at least 10 days, so a decision is imminent. He's fucked up every other major decision he's made in his presidency, so the Vegas money is surely on his approving the deal.

Other blogs have picked up on the sale of Doncasters to Dubai International Capital, as the result of an article in the Asia Times:

Americablog: Another Dubai port deal?

Mike the Mad Biologist: First, the Ports, Now...

Asia Times: Another Dubai deal, another security row


Previous posts:
Sale of Defense Contractor to Dubai Company in Bush's Hands (April 14, 2006)

Now We're Gonna Sell Our Tank Parts Manufacturing to Dubai (April 12, 2006)

Sale of Defense Contractor to Dubai Company in Bush's Hands

UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Makhtoum owns the majority stake in Dubai International Capital. (Photo: Reuters)
Looks like we are going to allow the sale of a major defense contractor to a company owned by the government of Dubai. The only news organization actively covering the story is Reuters. This article was picked up and republished in a few news outlets, but no other journalist seems to be following the story.

Reuters: Bush to make decision on Dubai defense purchase

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. panel that reviews foreign investments behind closed doors was sending President George W. Bush a recommendation on Thursday on a Dubai-owned company's proposed $1.24 billion takeover of Doncasters, a British group with U.S. plants that supply the military.

Doesn't this make you feel secure?

Bush "will thoroughly review the findings and recommendations of CFIUS, he will make a determination within the 15-day period and send a report to Congress as required by statute," he said.

Previous post:

Now We're Gonna Sell Our Tank Parts Manufacturing to Dubai (April 12, 2006)

Now We're Gonna Sell Our Tank Parts Manufacturing to Dubai

Because the deal to sell port security to the United Arab Emirates was so popular?

New York Sun: Now Dubai Eyes a Key Defense Contractor

CAIRO, Egypt - A confidential Treasury Department review of a United Arab Emirates firm's pending purchase of the British-based contractor that makes components for a tank used by the U.S. Army is expected to go to the White House as soon as this week, according to administration officials.

The proposed $1.2 billion deal is almost identical to Dubai Ports World's takeover of the British firm that operated American ports from Miami to New York. But in this case, the proposed buyer, Dubai International Capital, would gain control of a British company, Doncasters Group Limited, that builds the specialized turbine fan blades for the M-1 Abrams Tank, and is also a key contractor in the development of the new stealth joint strike fighter airplane.

The ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, owns the majority stake in Dubai International Capital.

Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? This is insane.

Everybody Hates the Port Deal; Was It Bought and Paid For?

Tom Kean (former head of the 9/11 Commission, former governor of New Jersey):
Former Sept. 11 commission chairman blasts ports deal

WASHINGTON -- The former chairman of the Sept. 11 commission blasted the offer by a United Arab Emirates company to run operations at six major U.S. seaports, saying it should never have been brokered in the first place.

"It shouldn't have happened, it never should have happened," Thomas Kean said Friday during a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Kean, who also is a past governor of New Jersey, said the quicker the Bush administration can get out of the deal, the better. He also criticized the administration, saying "somebody has a tin ear over there."

"We're in a no-win situation," Kean said, referring to the United Arab Emirates. "There's no question that two of the 9/11 hijackers came from there and money was laundered through there."

Clark Kent Ervin, the inspector general of the Homeland Security Department from 2003 to 2004 (and a great name!):

NYTimes: Strangers at the Door

WHO could have imagined that, in the post-9/11 world, the United States government would approve a deal giving control over six major American ports to a country with ties to terrorism? But this is exactly what the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has done.

Since 1999, the ports of New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and other cities have been operated by a British concern, P & O Ports, which has now been bought by Dubai Ports World, a company controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates. Defenders of the deal are claiming that critics, including the Republican and Democratic leaderships in Congress, are acting reflexively out of some bias against Arabs.

This is simply not true. While the United Arab Emirates is deemed by the Bush administration to be an ally in the war on terrorism, we should all have deep concerns about its links to terrorists. Two of the 9/11 hijackers were citizens of the emirates, and some of the money for the attacks came from there. It was one of only three countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime. And Dubai was an important transshipment point for the smuggling network of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist who supplied Libya, Iran and North Korea with equipment for making nuclear weapons.

Most terrorism experts agree that the likeliest way for a weapon of mass destruction to be smuggled into our country would be through a port. After all, some 95 percent of all goods from abroad arrive in the United States by sea, and yet only about 6 percent of incoming cargo containers are inspected for security threats.

It is true that at the ports run by the Dubai company, Customs officers would continue to do any inspection of cargo containers and the Coast Guard would remain "in charge" of port security. But, again, very few cargo inspections are conducted. And the Coast Guard merely sets standards that ports are to follow and reviews their security plans. Meeting those standards each day is the job of the port operators: they are responsible for hiring security officers, guarding the cargo and overseeing its unloading.

The Port Authority of New York has filed a lawsuit against the deal. A US company at the Port of Miami, Eller & Co., has filed lawsuits in Miami and in the High Court of London claiming that the deal will make it an 'involuntary partner' of the UAE:

Lawsuits Filed to Stop Ports Takeover, Deal on Hold

The UAE gave $100 billion to the US for Katrina aid, weeks before the port deal. Coincidence? Right:

UAE gave $100 million for Katrina relief

The administration said the request for U.S. approval of the $6.8 billion ports deal and the UAE contribution were not related.

"There was no connection between the two events," said Adam Ereli, the deputy State Department spokesman.

The U.S. government the money it received from the United Arab Emirates was nearly four times as much as it received from all other countries combined. Other nations, including some in the Middle East, also pledged large contributions but have not yet sent the money.

Previous posts:
UAE Company to Run Six Ports? Try Twenty-One Ports.

Bush's Blink

What's The Big Secret?

Why Take That Chance?

Bush Prepares for Blink on UAE/Port Deal

UAE Port Security Takeover Update

So Who Did Review the UAE/Ports Deal?

Terrorist Funders Would Control US Military Equipment Shipments As Well As US Ports

If Terrorist Funders Run Our Ports, Terrorists Win

Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge

Right Wing Radio

This morning in the car I turned on the local (Worcester) radio station for the weather. At 9:00 a.m. the "Glenn Beck" show came on. Right wing radio at its worst. He has a good voice for radio; if you like Lewis Black on the Daily Show he sounds a lot like him. Lots of shouting. He didn't get into heavy hating today, because he was talking about the Dubai port takeover story, and even right wing gasbags can't defend it.

But I felt dirty listening to his anger. He denigrated liberals and Democrats while talking about an issue where he seemed to agree with liberals and Democrats!

There's no liberal radio where I live. There's middle of the road, for about two hours in the afternoon, local radio personalities Marjorie Egan and Jim Braude on 96.9 for about two hours. Braude is a liberal, and Egan is -- well, how to describe her -- a Massachusetts Republican. The old Jacob Javits liberal. Don't find them in the rest of the country anymore. But everything else on the radio is hate. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Graham. Bellowing about people like me, like believing in social justice makes me one step away from Osama bin Laden.

I got to thinking about the movie "Working Girl". Melanie Griffith's character's big idea to pitch to a company is that instead of trying to get into television, they start smaller, with radio. Buy a radio network, and eventually that might lead them to television.

The right wing has done that with talk radio. Except for Air America and its few outlets, national talk radio is right wing. There are no other voices on the air. And with over 1200 radio stations owned by Clearchannel, they dominate the little news segments that are played at the hour and half hour across the country. Listen hard to those little segments. They have a point of view, and it's not liberal.

And slowly, slowly, gathering speed, the right wing perspective on the news now dominates television and print media, as well. And into the minds of our fellow citizens, brainwashed by the haters.

Here's an article on the phenomenon, from the Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times, via commondreams:

Flatulent Right Wing Fills Radio with Hate

What's The Big Secret?

Two points about this port story today: The whole thing was done with a secret side deal, which exempted the Emir's company from routine requirements in similar cases. Second, although the Bushies claim the Dubai company running US ports won't affect national security, the deal contains provisions requiring the company to do certain things regarding security. Which they wouldn't need if the deal didn't affect security, right?

WaPo: Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement

WASHINGTON -- 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.

[]

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.

Previous posts:

Why Take That Chance?


Bush Prepares for Blink on UAE/Port Deal

UAE Port Security Takeover Update

So Who Did Review the UAE/Ports Deal?

Terrorist Funders Would Control US Military Equipment Shipments As Well As US Ports

If Terrorist Funders Run Our Ports, Terrorists Win

Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge

UAE Port Security Takeover Update

George Bush has never vetoed a bill in his five disastrous years in office. Yet, despite the fact that this deal stinks to high heaven (the US never conducted the mandatory investigation before approving it), now Bush is ready to veto. Anything for his great and good friends the UAE.

Mr. "We'll get bin Laden, dead or alive" once passed up a chance to get bin Laden. Why? Because Osama was hanging out with his friends the UAE royal family.

This deal stinks. Will Congress have the spine to scuttle the deal?

ThinkProgress: Administration Failed To Conduct Legally Required Investigation Before Approving UAE Port Deal

The law [] makes the 45-day investigation mandatory in cases like the Dubai World Ports transfer.

[]

Yet, the investigation never happened. Bush administration officials “could not say why a 45-day investigation did not occur.”

Eschaton: Jolly Old Pals

From March, 2004:

The Central Intelligence Agency did not target Al Qaeda chief Osama bin laden once as he had the royal family of the United Arab Emirates with him in Afghanistan, the agency's director, George Tenet, told the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States on Thursday.

Had the CIA targeted bin Laden, half the royal family would have been wiped out as well, he said.

I don't see how it's a good idea to hand over ports to Bin Laden's pals.

Again, this is not about an "Arab company," this is a company owned and controlled by the hereditary oligarchy of the UAE, many of whom, apparently, were Bin Laden's jolly old pals.

New York lawmakers stunned by Bush's ports veto threat
The six ports include NY and NJ


Previous posts:

So Who Did Review the UAE/Ports Deal?

Terrorist Funders Would Control US Military Equipment Shipments As Well As US Ports

If Terrorist Funders Run Our Ports, Terrorists Win

Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge

Terrorist Funders Would Control US Military Equipment Shipments As Well As US Ports

The corporate media has jumped into the UAE company's takeover of US ports story. Here's a new wrinkle: That company, Dubai Ports World, also has a contract to transfer US military equipment.

UAE Would Also Control Shipments of Military Equipment For The U.S. Army

There is bipartisan concern about the Bush administration’s decision to outsource the operation of six of the nation’s largest ports to a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of that nation’s troubling ties to international terrorism. The sale of P&O to Dubai World Ports would give the state-owned company control of “the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.”

A major part of the story, however, has been mostly overlooked. The company, Dubai Ports World, would also control the movement of military equipment on behalf of the U.S. Army through two other ports. From today’s edition of the British paper Lloyd’s List:

[P&O] has just renewed a contract with the United States Surface Deployment and Distribution Command to provide stevedoring [loading and unloading] of military equipment at the Texan ports of Beaumont and Corpus Christi through 2010.

According to the journal Army Logistician “Almost 40 percent of the Army cargo deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom flows through these two ports.”

Thus, the sale would give a country that has been “a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia” direct control over substantial quantities U.S. military equipment.

Previous posts:
If Terrorist Funders Run Our Ports, Terrorists Win

Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge

If Terrorist Funders Run Our Ports, Terrorists Win

Everyone in Congress should object to this:

WaPo: Some in Congress Object to Arab Port Operator
Company Based in United Arab Emirates Set to Manage 6 East Coast Facilities After Takeover

Fortunately, two US Senators -- Democrats, natch -- are filing legislation to stop this insanity:

Reuters: Democrats plan bill to block Dubai port deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. Democratic senators said on Friday they would introduce legislation aimed at blocking Dubai Ports World from buying a company that operates several U.S. shipping ports because of security concerns.

Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York said they would offer a measure to ban companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from acquiring U.S. port operations.

"We wouldn't turn the border patrol or the customs service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either," Menendez said in a statement. The Senate Banking Committee also plans to hold a hearing on the issue later this month.

P&O, the company Dubai Ports World plans to buy for $6.8 billion, is already foreign-owned, by the British, but the concern is that the purchaser is backed by the United Arab Emirates government.

The UAE company would gain control over the management of major U.S. ports in New York and New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami and that has sparked national security concerns among lawmakers.

Previous post: Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge