Debbie Schlussel: Good News: Positive Aftermath of Dubai Ports Deal Cancellation
The cancellation of the deal for Dubai Ports World to control 22 U.S. Ports (including 6 major ones) has resulted in a lot of positives, including Americans getting enraged about foreign control of important infrastructure.
Now, there are two more dividends:
* A consortium, including Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, Inc., is considering bidding for British port operation Associated British Ports Holdings, PLC a/k/a "AB Ports."
While AB Ports is not Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (the British company Dubai Ports World was acquiring in order to control our ports), ABPorts owns Amports, which runs automotive terminals at U.S. ports in Maryland, California, Georgia, and Florida.
Unfortunately, the consortium with Goldman Sachs is not entirely American. Italso includes a Canadian retirement fund and a Singaporte government fund. But those countries are allies which did NOT help Al-Qaeda terrorists, and don't exercise travel and trade apartheid against Jews, Israelis, etc.
It's a start.
* The Bush Administration has withdrawn its nomination of David Sanborn to run the U.S. Maritime Administration.
Sanborn was Dubai Ports World's Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America. A guy with those kinds of connections (and who might return to that position after the Bush Presidency is over) should be kept away from the maritime position. There are a lot of unanswered questions about Sanborn's involvement in the initial rubber stamp of the failed DP World U.S. ports deal.
Posted by Debbie on March 28, 2006 11:20 AM to Debbie Schlussel