White House Claims Bush in the Dark About Dubai Port Deal
by Pamela Leavey
Here we go again… How many times have we heard this tired old line from the Bush administration, that “Bush didn’t know”?
A breaking news story reports that the White is now claiming that Bush “unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations” and he was in the dark “until the deal already had been approved.”
President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.
Defending the deal anew, the administration also said that it should have briefed Congress sooner about the transaction, which has triggered a major political backlash among both Republicans and Democrats.
Keeping up with the pretense, White House spokesman Scott McClellan also disavowed “any connection between the deal and David Sanborn of Virginia, a former senior DP World executive whom the White House appointed last month to be the new administrator of the Maritime Administration of the Transportation Department. Sanborn worked as DP World’s director of operations for Europe and Latin America.”
“My understanding is that he has assured us that he was not involved in the negotiations to purchase this British company,” McClellan added.
“In terms of David Sanborn, he was nominated to run the Maritime Administration because of his experience and expertise,” the spokesman said. Sanborn is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He is an operations professional.
Senior Bush administration officials are expected to explain the deal at a press conference today. Namely, “what persuaded them to approve the deal, the first-ever sale involving U.S. port operations to a foreign, state-owned company.”
The sale, not yet finalized is due to be completed in early March. The deal would put Dubai Ports World in charge of 6 major shipping operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
“If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward,” Bush said; yet he has threatened to veto the deal. Um… Thanks for the doublespeak Dubya.
Related Posts:
– John Kerry Calls on Secretary Snow for Full Disclosure in Dubai Ports Deal
– Bush Plans to Veto Legislation to Block Dubai Port Takeover
– Lawmakers Decry Ports Takeover, Chertoff Defends the Deal
– Miami Firm Sues to Block Foreign Port Takeover
– Is There a Cronyism Link with the Dubai Port Takeover Deal and the Bush Administration?
– Secret Deliberations Determined Decision to Sell Port Control to Dubai Company
– White House Defends Deal to Outsource Control of U.S. Ports to Dubai Co., Members of Congress Press for Reconsideration
– Schumer Questions Dubai Deal for U.S. Ports
Graphic from MSNBC
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The Bush administration not only wants to have it’s cake and eat it, they want to eat as much as they want.
The nerve of these appointees cutting a deal like this without consulting the WH!!
Sometimes all the backroom deals become transparent.
The Commander in Chief of the United Staes of America in a time of war didn’t know about the sale of our seaports?
What planet am I on?
Oh yeah. The Planet of Suckers.
Am I the only one to say—WTF–IS this guy for real? Go to hell Bush, I would so love to find out how to send some storm debris to you and your yuppy wife!! I can only hope for your health to go as bad as your foreign policy. My only retraction of that, would be for the sake of our country, due to the fact that Cheney would take command. LOL, Cheney in charge, is like getting your private parts smashed in a vice.
Donnie,
Speaking of people who do not seem for real, did you happen to check out Conservative Underground after their visits during the Presidents Day post?
They had a specific response for you. For the benefit of those who didn’t read their stuff, they oppose Katrina aide, considering it charity which non-lazy people don’t need. Someone had a comment saying that insurance would take care of all the problems, claiming his house was flooded and the insurance bought him a better house.
There are many obvious holes in this belief. Not all belongings have a monetary value. Many of the poor could not afford adequate insurance. Even if an individual’s loses are totally replaced by insurance, there’s still the entire infrastructure. Rebuilding a house isn’t enough if there’s not roads, power, water, garbage collection, etc. If there was such a disaster where I lived, even if the insurance replaced all my property,I would still have a tremendous loss of business income if the area was devastated.
CU is quite a joke. Take away their pathetic comments on Democratic Underground and there isn’t much left there. They show no capacity for actually thinking on their own.
Ron,
The fact is that I see what has been done. I do not have to go by what others say. I also have to see all the debris come in on my post. I hear people and their plight, and their stories about the wait. I grow more angry by the day at what I see and hear. I listened to someone tell me about their application for a FEMA trailer getting turned down, BECAUSE HIS HOME WAS IN A FLOOD ZONE!! YES– You heard me right. He is Dispalced, and is now here in my town. FEMA is a dirty four letter word!!
Ron,
I read the droolers on CU’s comments about that Donnie guy. Interesting to note they of course assumed Donnie would be pissed off by their comments because he obviously was one of those lazy LA people who don’t want to work, don’t bother to get insurance and of course all live off of government handouts.
It is of course foreign to them that perhaps Donnie personally is fine but maybe he just cares about his friends, neighbors and the other citizens of his state that he may not even know personally. Totally foreign concepts for those “good Christians” like old Jason(who I think may also have been our little “patriotgames” visitor).
Well Dave if they wish to talk to me, if I am that Donnie they talk of, I have a lot to say to them!! Lets Rock!! Consider this an open invitation to all that wish to talk to me, and Katrinacrats! I work in security! I know what is down here, I live here. This is my life, and I am willing to go the distance to get things right.
PS-for the Jackasses at the CU(Whoever you are) I did not loose my home. It survived both storms, and the little damage I recieved, was not reported to FEMA, when they finally showed up. I am a spokesman, for the people the were screwed by BUSH!! I helped my people, and continue to do so. So if you ant a show down, let it be!
“In the Dark”, Well that pretty much sums up the presidency of George W. Shrub.
Blue Washington
He’s obviously a little slow. I guess Laura has not been reading to him lately.