Thursday, February 23, 2006

Dubai Ports World Will Delay Deal

Just in via CNN: Dubai Ports World has agreed to delay its deal with the US government.

Apparently, MIA Bush administration architect, Karl Rove, stepped in and took control of the mess:

Via FOX News:

WASHINGTON — Making sure Congress is comfortable with the ports deal involving a United Arab Emirates-owned company is priority one, even if it means the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. is slightly delayed, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told FOX News' Tony Snow on Thursday.


And, just how will they make congress "comfortable"?

"Our interest is in making certain the members of Congress have full information about it, and that, we're convinced, will give them a level of comfort with this," Rove said, adding that regulatory rules abroad could also add a few days to a final sign off on the transaction.

"There are some hurdles, regulatory hurdles, that this still needs to go through on the British side as well that are going to be concluded next week. There's no requirement that it close,
you know, immediately after that," Rove said.


They wouldn't have to make anyone "comfortable" if they had properly informed congress and had actually followed the rules in the first place:

Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Carl Levin of Michigan, the vice chairman of the panel, alleged that officials in the 12-member U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States broke the law by not taking the full 45 days available to it to review the ports deal. They argued that the statute that defines the job of the panel requires a 45-day review. CFIUS approved the deal after 30 days.


This ain't over til it's over.

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