And I wonder who is gonna report the facts.

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Nope, no one will either.

And if they do attempt, they'll follow it up with Bush's statement, "Trust me. This is a good thing. It's about Nation building. Who... a... a... who asked that question? I think we need a special commission to investitgate these questions and their sources."

What DON'T they lie about?

Dear (Scoey):

Thank you for contacting me regarding foreign control of U.S. ports. I appreciate the opportunity to review your comments on this important issue, and I agree with you.

Dubai Ports World (DP World) is currently set to take over control of operations at some U.S. port facilities on March 2, 2006. DP World is owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a nation that had ties to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In this post-9/11 world, our ports remain major targets for terrorism. I believe that this deal will pose an unacceptable risk to the security of our ports and our nation. I am also disturbed that the Bush Administration conducted its review of DP World and the potential deal in secret, without briefing Congress.

That is why I strongly support the bipartisan effort in Congress to delay this deal until the administration thoroughly reevaluates the security risks and provides Congress with the details of its findings. I am also co-sponsoring legislation that would ban any foreign government from controlling U.S. port operations. In addition, I wrote to the President to ask him to revisit his administration's approval of the deal, given the UAE's past and present connections to terrorists.

Rest assured, I will continue monitoring this situation, and I will keep working to protect the security of our nation's ports.

Again, thank you for writing to me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

I just love her, she's great!!

Saw it on the CBS evening news, just moments ago. One of the ports that will come under control of the Dubai-based firm is Beaumont, TX. It is from this location that a large percentage of U.S. military equipment destined for overseas is shipped.

Of course, we were reassured by an unnamed, nondescript individual in military fatigues that the port security will be handled by the same people, in the same way it has always been handled. Which is all well and good...

...but my guess is that there is going to be a duplicate cargo manifest sitting on a hard-drive in Dubais, even as the military equipment ships out.

RDB/ENDIT
------------
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."

The wake up call! This is well founded fear mongering, do your part to wake up the sleeping giant. Wake the American people up to the real issues before it is too late. See Öþêñ ¥ðµr MïñЧ È¥ê blog & spread the video like Wild Fire! This issue must not be ignored! Follow the Below Link and please take action!

http://openyourmindseye.blogspot.com/2006/02/bush-is-terrorist.html

The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company's taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent

Stewart Baker, a senior Homeland Security official, said he was the sole representative on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States who objected to the ports deal. Baker said he later changed his vote after DP World agreed to the security conditions. Other officials confirmed Baker's account. "We were not prepared to sign off on the deal without the successful negotiation of the assurances," Baker told the AP.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060225/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security

WASHINGTON(AP) The Bush administration said Friday it won't reconsider its approval for a United Arab Emirates company to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports. The former head of the Sept. 11 commission said the deal "never should have happened."

Opponents, including the agency that runs New York and New Jersey ports, took their case to court, while the company, Dubai Ports World, stepped up efforts to change the minds of congressional critics.

The president's national security adviser said the White House would keep trying to persuade lawmakers _ there's more time since the company offered to delay its takeover _ but the administration wouldn't reconsider its approval.

"There are questions raised in the Congress, and what this delay allows is for those questions to be addressed on the Hill," Stephen Hadley said. "There's nothing to reopen."

Thomas Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey who led the bipartisan probe of the Sept. 11 attacks, said the deal was a big mistake because of past connections between the 2001 hijackers and the UAE.

"It shouldn't have happened, it never should have happened," Kean said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

The quicker the Bush administration can get out of the deal, the better, he said. "There's no question that two of the 9/11 hijackers came from there and money was laundered through there," Kean said.

Kean acknowledged the UAE is now being helpful by allowing the United States to dock ships in its country's waters, and helping the U.S. with intelligence.

"From our point of view, we don't want foreigners controlling our ports," Kean said. "From their point of view, this is a legitimate company that had a legitimate bid and won, and here are all these congresmen saying all these things about not wanting this company. It looks to them like it's anti-Arab."

"I think this deal is going to be killed," Kean said. "The question is how much damage is this going to do to us before it's killed."

To say that being secure in our ports should take a backseat to "a corporate deal" that is clearly between Bushco & a UAE nation that gave us two Dubai mass-killers in our midst, intentional or not, is being ANTI-AMERICAN, not Anti-Arab!

Anti-Arab is when Bush does UNwarranted spying of Arab- Americans calling their relatives overseas, or how about bombing Iraquis for BUSHCO/PNAC LIES, now THAT is anti-Arab!!!

Dear Senator/House Representative,

Please keep pressing the Congress and the Senate for a full withdraw of the DP World deal. If it goes through, it will equate to the worst merger and acquisition, both on a Governmental scale, but also is reckless on a Corporate scale.

I am one of a few informed people that understand the whole ramifications of the DP World deal. The cover story of the 6 ports is a half truth designed to hide a whole lie. There are 21 other ports included in this merger. But the public is only being told about the six.

Not many people know of the 9/11 Commission's findings and the relationship that the UAE has had to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. This relationship is still fresh in the minds of all Americans. It's called 9/11. Please ask the president and/or his Republican Party, if this is how a post 9/11 vision looks like; Doing business behind our borders, on our soil, with a known accomplice to 9/11?

But let's put aside the UAE and DP World.

What about port security?
Where is the funding?
If 5%-7% of inbound cargo is inspected, what is the other 95% of the inbound cargo?
How does the reduction of the budget for Homeland Security in the current Fiscal Budget and the additional reduction and cuts from the budget of Homeland Security for FY'07 equate to building a stronger defense?
How can Americans feel secure in knowing that 95% of all inbound cargo is unaccounted for?

Now adding back in the UAE and the DP World Ports Deal:

How can Americans feel safe knowing that DP World is not a freely traded world company, but instead a Government owned conglomeration?
What is the Administration's explanation as to the rationale to achieving security through all ports, but especially the DP World's ports, both on American soil and other ports worldwide, if the security, as written, is only achievable through communication?
It would only take a disgruntled dock worker and/or a dock manager to not communicate to the Coast Guard as to what really is in container number such&such.

Is that 100% compliance? I know it isn't. And I am counting on you to keep pressing the issue. The USA should not continue to ignore the 9/11 Commission's Report. And as of this date, the president's reasoning and the lack of review as required by the law, CFIUS, begs for investigation. The members of the review board were not notified until the news broke in the press.

How can this be when that specific law addresses issues of National Security? Does this imply that the Administration is resting on the laurels of the Prince of Dubai? The same Prince that personally knows Osama bin Laden? From the same country that also ran the port where the USS Cole was attacked from? From the same country that funneled money to the 9/11 hijackers? From the same country that has been known to ship radiological/nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia? That up until 9/11, the UAE was one of three countries worldwide that recognized the Taliban as an official government. We should do business with them?

And the president says, "Trust me."

That because he says that they are our allies now, does not lessen the fact that the UAE four and a half years ago was the ally of al-Qaeda. I say let more time show, say a century like we did with Great Brittan after our separation and establishment as a sovereign nation. We need to run our own ports and achieve 100% security before we begin to court a recently allied accomplice to al-Qaeda.

9/11 was less than 5 years ago, and the Administration's view is a pre 9/11 view. They want to do business with a known enemy while our defenses are down.

Please, stop them. NOW.

Thank You,
(MAX-1)

and informative. No Senator/Rep imbued with this knowledge can possibly support the Bush Administration now.

to run ISSUE ADS on this matter! HAMMER HAMMER HAMMER... it home