Greenburg, AIG buy US port operations from Dubai (are we safe yet?)

[democraticinsurgent]

Dubai Ports to sell U.S operations to AIG unit
Original deal sparked furor after Congress raised national-security concerns

WASHINGTON - Dubai Ports World, the company whose planned takeover of major U.S. port operations ignited a political firestorm earlier this year, has agreed to sell those operations to AIG Global Investment Group.

The company announced the deal Monday. The U.S. operations at six major U.S. seaports in New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, New Orleans and Tampa, Fla., were valued at about $700 million, but DP World did not disclose the sales price.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16153101/

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whew. that's a relief. For awhile there it looked like foreigners were going to operate our ports. Thank goodness this l'il ole American company's gonna take care of us now. I'm not worried that they're part of the privatized CIA and neck deep in 9/11, are you?

Who Killed John O'Neill anyway?

[wildbilln864]

1. excellent question!

IMHO!

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. It makes me nervous when this gang

starts buying things.

Makess it so much easier to get those mini-nukes into the country.

[pauldp]

3. Oy...

...apparently Greenberg now wants to buy the NYT too.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003465681

I hope someone looks a little closer at these deals. I smell lots of big fat rats.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

4. I never understood the original shitstorm about Dubai Ports World

it seemed like a lot of xenophobic nonsense was spouted against them and unfortunately some on the Left partook in that low-point of debate for party political reasons.

[pauldp]

5. Hunting buddies of Bin Laden and money launderers for Al Qaeda.

Not exactly Xenophobic nonsense IMO.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. Do you have a link for me to look at from a prestigious news source?

[pauldp]

7. yes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22303-2002Feb16?language=printer
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-09-02-terror-dubai_x.htm
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HF07Ak01.html
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0609,ridgeway,72286,2.html

[Anarcho-Socialist]

8. That's all well and good, but none of those articles

say anything about Dubai Ports World. Dubai seems to be a Middle Eastern equivalent of Switzerland in that many of their banks will take anyone's money and not care where it came from. There is no indication from those articles that this has anything to do with Dubai Ports World.

[pauldp]

9. Dubai Ports World is a state-run business in the United Arab Emirates

http://mediamatters.org/items/200602220004

[Anarcho-Socialist]

10. Again

that is superfluous to the issue raised. I see no indication in the links I've seen that Dubai Ports World are directly linked to Al Qaedia or are Osama Bin Laden's "hunting buddies." You've pointed out that the company is state-owned which is not usual.

[pauldp]

11. Hunting Buddies.

"General Wayne Downing, Bush's former national director for combating terrorism, was quoted on MSNBC in September, 2003 saying,
They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktum, United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of Dubai.''
www.villagevoice.com/news/0609,ridgeway,72286,2.html

But I'm sure they don't have much influence on Dubai Ports World, after all they only own it.
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktum is probably not involved in day to day operations,
so what's the big deal if they run our ports?

:eyes: