perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the dubai port world deal--so far anyway--is the president's public position.  he aggressively supported something with which he then claimed to be barely familiar.

if he's lying about his limited knowledge, it's pretty scary.  if he's not, scary ain't nearly strong enuff.

i tend to go with the former possibility.  as i've tried to point out several times in the past, he may be dumb as he often seems, but not nearly as dumb as he thinks you and i are.

how dumb are we?  

dumb enuff that the half of us one normally expect to be cleaning their weapons in preparation for the bel-arab invasion ('and then one day we was shootin at some jews, when up from the ground came bubbling ooze..oil that is') are denouncing as racists and isolationists those who are usually doing the denouncing.

in the meantime, the dealer keeps quietly but relentlessly shuffling them three cards.  it's difficult enuff to keep track of which is which even without all that drama goin on.

this aint no regular game of three card monty tho cuz the card he don't want us to find isn't red or black, but green.

furthermore, even tho it  seems to be all about the money (which it is),  it's also about cronyism, cynicism, globalism and elitism.   

while trying to learn more about  dubai ports world,  i was reminded about it's involvement in other formerly american-based concerns...like csx.

what's csx?   i thought you'd never ask. Link

"CSX Corporation NYSE: CSX was formed in 1980 by the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries and eventually merged the various railroads owned by those predecessors into a single line that became known as CSX Transportation. Based in Richmond, Virginia, USA after the merger, in 2003 headquarters moved to Jacksonville, Florida. The chairman, president, and chief executive officer since 2003 is Michael J. Ward.

Its non-railroad interests have in the past included barge lines, pipelines, and containerships. At present it operates a worldwide network of shipping terminals, markets intermodal shipping and information technology services, and its real estate interests include The Greenbrier Resort.

The founding chairman was Prime F. Osborn III of Seaboard and the first CEO and second chairman was Hays T. Watkins Jr. of Chessie. Watkins was succeeded by John W. Snow as CEO in 1989 and as chairman in 1991. When Snow left the company in 2003 to become United States Secretary of the Treasury, Ward, who then headed CSX Transportation, was promoted to succeed him.

Another top corporate executive, Arnold I. Havens, also left the company in 2003 became the General Counsel of the United States Department of the Treasury and was sworn in by John W. Snow. Arnold I. Havens (Arnie) served as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for CSX Corporation (CSX) where, from 1995 until 2003, he was responsible for providing advice and counsel on transportation-related issues and representing the company’s interest before public officials. In that role, he managed federal and state affairs for CSX and its transportation and non-transportation interests including CSX Transportation and its 23-state freight rail network. In addition, Mr. Havens had the privilege of serving as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. On October 29, 2003, Mr. Havens was nominated to be General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury by President Bush, confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 2003, and sworn in by Secretary John Snow on December 18, 2003. As General Counsel of the Department, Mr. Havens serves as the chief legal advisor and a senior policy adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Its domestic containership lines are now jointly owned with the Carlyle Group as Horizon Lines LLC."

realizing it's a lot easier to keep track of the players when you have a program, i i bolded the names of former csx execs who are now government officials.

i also bolded the last sentence cuz the carlyle group and horizon lines llc are definitely players too (even tho carlyle sold horizon lines in 2004).

who or what is carlyle group? 

for the second time, i thought you'd never ask:  Link

"The Carlyle Group is a Washington, D.C. based global private equity investment firm with more than $30 billion of equity capital in 2005. This large pool of money belongs to just 800 individuals from all over the world, making an average contribution of approximately $37.5 million. The firm employs more than 300 investment professionals in 14 countries with multiple offices in North America, Europe and Asia. It boasts of having on its staff, 138 MBAs, 24 JDs and 14 Ph.D/MDs from many of the world’s most prestigious universities. The firm operates four fund families, focusing on leveraged buyouts, venture capital, real estate and high-yield investments."

and

"In the book House of Bush, House of Saud, author Craig Unger states that Saudi Arabian interests have given 1.4 billion Dollars to firms connected to the Bush family. That figure was quoted by Michael Moore in his film Fahrenheit 9/11. Nearly 90% of the 1.4 billion, about 1.18 billion, refers to Saudi Arabian government contracts awarded to defense contractor BDM in the early to mid 1990s. At that time BDM was owned by the Carlyle Group.

Politicians affiliated with Carlyle

Alice Albright, daughter of ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
James Baker III, former United States Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush, Staff member under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Carlyle Senior Counselor
George H. W. Bush, former U.S. President, Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board from April 1998 to October 2003.
George W. Bush, current U.S. President. Was appointed in 1990 to the Board of Directors of one of Carlyle's first acquisitions, an airline food business called Caterair, which Carlyle eventually sold at a loss. Bush left the board in 1992 to later become Governor of Texas, where he was responsible for appointing several members of the board which controlled the investment of Texas teachers' pension funds. A few years later, the board decided to invest $100m of public money in the Carlyle Group.
Frank C. Carlucci, former United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989, chairman emeritus and currently strategic business advisor. Also, former Princeton roommate and wrestling partner of present US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
Richard Darman, former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under George H. W. Bush, Senior Advisor and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group
William Kennard, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under President Bill Clinton, Carlyle's Managing Director in the Telecommunications & Media Group
Arthur Levitt, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Bill Clinton, Carlyle Senior Advisor
John Major, former British Prime Minister, Chairman, Carlyle Europe until May 2004, and other posts to the present
Frank McKenna, Canadian ambassador (effective March 1, 2005) to the United States, former member of Carlyle's Canadian advisory board
Mack McLarty, White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, President of Kissinger McLarty Associates, Carlyle Senior Advisor
Anand Panyarachun, former premier of Thailand
Colin Powell, former United States Secretary of State
Fidel Ramos, former president of the Philippines, Carlyle Asia Advisor Board Member until the board was disbanded in February 2004
Park Tae Joon, former prime minister of South Korea
Robert Zoellick, former United States Trade Representative and current Deputy Secretary of State
The Saudi Arabian relatives of Osama bin Laden (not Osama bin Laden himself) were also minor investors in Carlyle until October 2001 when the family sold its $2.02 million investment back to the firm in light of the public controversy surrounding the bin Laden family after September 11

as noted, csx sold its containership interests to carlyle in 2002.  Link

MM&P-CONTRACTED CSX LINES PURCHASED BY THE CARLYLE GROUP
MM&P-contracted CSX Lines, the US-flag container shipping subsidiary of CSX Inc., will be sold to the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington, DC for $300M. The acquisition will give Carlyle control over the nation's largest Jones Act container fleet and will add to the company's growing transportation portfolio.

CSX Lines will be renamed Horizon Lines LLC, when the transaction is completed early next year pending regulatory approval. CSX Lines is the nation's largest ocean transport company, with 17 US-flag vessels and 22,000 containers, providing ocean transportation and logistics services to and from the US, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Carlyle's other maritime holdings include Seabulk International, formerly Hvide Marine, which owns and operates 10 Jones Act tankers in the Gulf of Mexico. Through United Defense Industries, Carlyle controls United States Marine Repair, the nation's largest non-nuclear ship repair and conversion company.

Carlyle Group is a politically-connected global private equity firm with reportedly more than $13.9 billion under management. The company's directors and advisors include former President George H.W. Bush, former British Prime Minister John Major, and former Secretary of State James Baker. IBM Chairman Louis Gerstner is slated to become chairman of Carlyle on January 7, replacing former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci.

John Snow, the CEO of CSX, was appointed Treasury Secretary by the younger President Bush last week. The current CSX Lines President and Chief Executive Charles Raymond and his management team will remain in place. Raymond will also serve as chairman of the board.

so what did carlyle get for its $300 million?

16 ships, only 3 of which were, at the time, under 20 years old.  the rest were steamships.  by which i don't mean the ubiquitous ss designated sorta diesel-powered steamships.  REAL steamships!   it also gotta company that had net earnings of $17 million on revenues of $681 million in 2001,  a net cash flow of $0 and fixed assets of $167 million.  if it junked all the steamboats, it might have realized as much as $35 million only to have to lay out about a billion to replace them.

 why did carlyle buy csx? 

apparently not because of it's jones act status (the jones act mandates maritime trade between us  ports be conducted exclusively by companies owned and incorporated in the us using ships built and registered in the us crewed by americans) as you'll see.  

seems more likely there's a crystal ball involved cuz who woulda reasonably guessed carlyle would sell horizon in less than a year for $650 million bucks? (the official transfer from csx to carlyle took place in february 2003; carlyle announced the sale of horizon to castle harlan, inc in march 2004). 

so what's the connection between csx, the carlyle group and dpw? 

could it be...satan?

nawwwwww

more like david sanborn.

the very same david sanborn who was the subject of this dp world press release Link

DP WORLD EXECUTIVE NOMINATED FOR PRESITIGOUS US GOVT POSITION
 
Dubai, 24 January 2006: - 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.

The White House has issued a statement from Washington DC announcing the nomination. The confirmation process will begin in February.

Mr Sanborn currently holds the position of Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America for the Dubai-based company

Mohammed Sharaf, CEO, DP World said:
“While we are sorry to lose such an experienced and capable executive, it is exactly those qualities that will make Dave an effective administrator for MarAd.  We are proud of Dave’s selection and pleased that the Bush Administration found such a capable executive. We wish him all the best in his new role.”

Ted Bilkey, Chief Operating Officer, DP World said:
“Dave’s decades of experience in markets around the world, together with his passion for the industry and commitment to its development, will allow him to make a positive contribution to the work of the Maritime Administration. We wish him well for the future.”

Mr Sanborn, a graduate of The United States Merchant Maritime Academy, joined DP World in 2005. He previously held senior roles with shipping lines CMA-CGM (Americas), APL Ltd and Sea-Land and has been based, besides the US, in Brazil, Europe, Hong Kong and Dubai during his career.  He has also served in the US Naval Reserve.

Mr Sanborn is due to take up his new role based in Washington DC later in 2006."

this is as good a time as any to take a peek behind the curtain to see who was involved in approving this deal. 

according to his first statement, homeland security director michael chertoff it was the commission on foreign investments...sorta.  seems chertoff claims he didn't know  at the time dpw was planning to buy out the brit company  (good thing he's payin such close attention).  remember former csx ceo/now treasury secretary snow who heads the commission, thus giving him final approval about this kinda thing before it goes to  the president?  he didn't know about dpw buying p&o either (apparently his buddy david sanborn--the man who brokered the sale of the rest of csx marine operations to dubai port world just before leaving the company to become the president's maritime administrator--keeps secrets). 

there's only one problem with his story.  uae emirs--no matter how enlightened--don't shake on deals with women.  so condi rice hadda have someone with a good ongoing relationship with the boys in the big tent.

snow & sanborn sure appear to be likely suspects.

amazing how nobody knew nothin tho aint it?

why would the president be so determined to use his first veto ever to protect this deal?

it's really a shame we can't plug in soundfiles here.  cuz i'm thinkin the perfect bg music would be the ojays' 'money' or 'war' performed by edwin starr.

it may just be one of those deals that'll benefit everyone once they're outta office...or corporate contributors now.  in other words, it may be just one more sacrificial offering of the american people and our economy on the altar of free trade.

there's that bush-pushed  middle east free trade area (mefta), which the administration believes will  link 22 arab nations to  israel and the us.  last january the us and morocco concluded a free trade agreement and bahrain is next on the list with a deal already approved by congress and scheduled to go into effect this month.

in late 2004, the administration sent trade negotiator (and carlyle group investor) robert zoellick to the uae to get the ball rolling. 

admittedly the uae is our third largest trading partner in the middle east, but does making money really  trump security concerns?   free trade advocates are usually the ones mongering fear (as bakerstreet has pointed out).   not this time, tho.

"There are legitimate security questions to be asked but it would be a mistake and really an insult to one of our leading trading partners in that region to reject this commercial transaction out of hand" -- Daniel T. Griswold, Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies,  Cato Institute

or perhaps there's a much more substantial quid pro quo.

does it have something to do with our need for a middle eastern arab nation willing to rebuke iran for trying to acquire nukes?   hmmmmm.  that might explain this:

"The presence of nuclear capabilities in the Middle East region is harmful. We are against Iran acquiring that capability. The presence of such power in the region is not useful. Any nuclear program will pose a threat to the Gulf region."-- crown prince shaikh mohammad to  jacque chirac at the elysee palace,  february 11 2006.

or maybe that's just part of the show. 

as senator  mark foley has noted pointed out,  any concerns the  uae may have in that regard aren't preventing them from negotiating a free trade agreement with our ol buddies in iran.