Someone with more time and resources then myself should be looking into this, since the MSN can't seem to do their jobs. A few seconds of digging found this January 24, 2006 press release:
"Global ports operator DP World today welcomed news that one of its senior executives, Dave Sanborn, has been nominated by US President George W. Bush to serve as Maritime Administrator a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the Secretary of Transportation and Cabinet Member."
Of course DP is Dubai Ports, the UAE firm that now will manage the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
UPDATE: The 12-agency Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, chaired by Treasury Secretary John Snow, approved this deal. Snow is a former chairman of CSX Corp., which sold its global port assets to Dubai Ports for $1.15 billion in 2004.
If my memory is correct, didn't Congress give an "F," as in a failing grade to our port security? What is more interesting is that the FBI and Treasury Department have said post 9/11 that funds were transferred to the hijackers through the UAE banking system and that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.
So why is this important? Well according to Think Progress here are a few facts about the UAE:
– The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
– The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.
– According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.
– After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.
Where is our media? We now know that the Bush Administration held "private" meetings to approve the purchase of these ports. And we also know that days before, or even while those meetings were happening a senior offical of the company under review was appointed by Bush to a senior level government position. Is this really the way things are supposed to work!