Lawmakers seek more thorough look at takeover by UAE firm
"No one can understand it, Democrat or Republican," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and a leading critic of the agreement. "Average citizens, everywhere we go, are stopping us and saying, 'What is going on?' "
Critics say the takeover raises security concerns, noting that two of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington came from the UAE, and that the hijackers drew funds from bank accounts in Dubai, the financial center of the Persian Gulf.
Sigh.
For the record, Our Fair State's Senators Menendez and Lautenberg, along with Senators Clinton and Boxer, sent Majority Leader Frist a letter urging his support of legislation they are proposing to stop "a company owned by a foreign government controlling operations at U.S. ports." Ful text of letter here.
2 comments:
i have had a change of heart with regards to the port thing which i blog about on my site.
I admit, at first blush, this port arrangement is a head-scratcher.
But the more I think about it, the less bizarre it seems.
I have to agree with you there, Jay. There are a few specific issues here that are questionable about the deal, but it's not a big change from now, where a foreign power (Britian) owns the mgt. company. At least, more attention is being paid to port security.
I still believe it's a stunningly poorly played move by the Bushies. His main defenses are "Trust us" and "I didn't understand all the details, but it's still a good deal." A veto, if a Repub-controlled House and Senate pass a law against it? Good way to alienate your base, while looking soft on security while defensive and cocksure about your own decisions. Astonishingly bad move by a White House that's been so careful and calculating of political moves.
Something is wrong here, but I'm not really sure what it is. I almost wonder if there's something else going on behind the scenes, some strange deal that was had. I'm sure if I look for a conspiracy theory, someone in the blogosphere has it written out already. If not- well then, it's just been handled very poorly policically by the Bushies. Which, Rove usually doesn't allow, so I'm surprized.
Post a Comment