More on the bad port deal

NY Daily News

Why does the Bush Admin heart this deal so much? how can it be in the best interests of the nation to put the UAE in charge of our ports? I could see as it would line the pockets of the United Suits of Bushco, but how exactly is it going to aid the actual United States?

Washington - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

from Atrios