Even this idiot knows right from wrong

Is anybody out there still following the big ports issue? You know, the one where our President tried to sneak a port deal by all his constituency, including the port operators? Yeah, the one that involved the company owned by the UAE.

Well, has anyone else seen the news that the company in question, DP World, is now planning to sell all its U.S. port operations within the next 6 months or so to an American buyer? The newspaper I'm reading says, "[DP World] agreed to the sale to quell a bipartisan furor in Congress." Is anyone else wondering why any private business would start selling pieces of its multimillion dollar industry just because our Congress has their panties in a wad? Why aren't the newspapers asking why?

I think the majority of the reason is because of the intimate relationship the current U.S. administration has with DP World (and it is also the same reason that the deal was so quickly passed through the review process in the first place). When you are that deeply involved in politics, then the impression you leave on Congress and the American public becomes important, doesn't it?

To save myself time, I've pulled up an article that illustrates the connection (although this writer strikes a tone that I find faulty in any scientific/historical review of the facts):

Was it because a GOP ex-presidential candidate was brokering the deal?
Ex-Senator Bob Dole's lobbying on behalf of Dubai Ports World "is creating a political problem for his wife," North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole." North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek yesterday "called on Sen. Dole to remove herself from 'any congressional oversight' of the Dubai port deal." A spokeswoman for Sen. Dole "rejected the criticism as 'a partisan attack' and defended the senator's role as a lawmaker and her husband's as a lobbyist."
Was it because DP World honors a Boycott of Israel, one of the United States closest allies?
Was it because the United Arab Emirates is a major stakeholder in the Carlyle Group -- the same private equity firm that has been dominated by such Republican emissaries as George H. W. Bush, former Secretary of State James A. Baker, and ex-secretary of defense Frank Carlucci -- AND that the UAE government-run firm, Dubai International Capital backs an $8 billion Carlyle fund?
Or was it simply because The UAE even gave more than a million dollars to the elder Bush's presidential library in Texas.
All very interesting questions, but not quite as interesting as the following:
Why did Treasury Secretary John Snow first approve the DPW deal and then deny that he did so?
I don't know, but I do know some things that you should know as well.
First, in 2002, while Treasury Secretary John Snow was still the CEO of CSX Corp., the Carlyle Group bought the company.
In 2003, Snow was appointed Treasury Secretary by George W. Bush
One year later, CSX sold its port operations to Dubai Ports for $1.15 billion.
Now, John Snow has approved the U.S. port takeover by U.A.E. state-owned Dubai Ports World.
So immersed in this is John Snow that Republican insiders (according to the subscription-only newsletter U.S. Bulletin News) are targeting him as the "Dubai fall guy":
Some Republican advisers to Hill leaders, angered with the poor handling of the plan to hand over operations at major U.S. ports to a Dubai company, are suggesting today that Treasury Secretary John Snow may take the fall for the White House, US News Bulletin has learned. Even as administration officials dismissed the suggestion outright, some lawmakers and their aides were looking to pin the blame on somebody other than the President and the White House, and are focused on Snow because he is the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which approves such deals.
Snow has said he didn't learn about the port deal until it was publicized last week. While he is still liked inside the White House, it has long been rumored that Snow would be resigning this year. And some conservative opponents of the deal are suggesting that he -- and whomever he designated as his representative during the review -- bow out soon to take the heat off the President.
Of course the buck -- particularly for issues of national security -- must stop with the president.
So again, why would the Bush Administration accept such political risk in the run-up to the 2006 election?
Follow the money...
The UAE invests heavily in George H. W. Bush's Carlyle Group >> George H. W. Bush's Carlyle Group buys John Snow's CSX >> George W. Bush Appoints John Snow to Treasury Secretary >> CSX Sells its port operations to Dubai Ports >> John Snow approves US Port Takeover by UAE state-owned DP World.
Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!
Everybody's happy.