Treasury Dept made decision that there was no security risks. on cnn

[rodeodance]

now

[rodeodance]

1. and this decision than bypassed the WH-

[rodeodance]

2. even Rummy said she did not know and his Dept was suspose to be

one of the departments doing the assessment (maybe his lower staff did but I have not heard)

[magellan]

4. Not that I believe this but if true, then SNOW SHOULD GO TO JAIL.

Whoever it was in the administration that made the secret agreement with DP World that it doesn't have to keep its business records on US soil or have an American in operations to answer to the US government (as is usually required of foreign companies in the US) is a TRAITOR to this country and our national security.

Documents Show Secret Deal on Ports Sale

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. One more example

of how the Bush Cabal betrays this country every day.

[rodeodance]

11. as others have said--it was viewed as a business deal.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. You can read more in NYTimes

This was their lead story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/politics/23port.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

The Bush administration decided last month that a deal to hand over operations at major American ports to a government-owned company in Dubai did not involve national security and so did not require a more lengthy review, administration officials said Wednesday.

The decision was made by an interagency committee led by Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt. The group included officials from 12 departments and agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, State and Homeland Security, as well as the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Mr. Kimmitt said that the company, Dubai Ports World, had been thoroughly investigated by the administration, including by intelligence agencies, and that on Jan. 17 the panel members unanimously approved the transfer.

"None of them objected to the deal proceeding on national security grounds," he said.

[rodeodance]

8. looks like low level people made the assessment.

nytimes:
....The decision was made by an interagency committee led by Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt. The group included officials from 12 departments and agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, State and Homeland Security, as well as the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Mr. Kimmitt said that the company, Dubai Ports World, had been thoroughly investigated by the administration, including by intelligence agencies, and that on Jan. 17 the panel members unanimously approved the transfer.

"None of them objected to the deal proceeding on national security grounds," he said.
.....

An objection from any member of the interagency committee would have started, as required by law, an additional 45-day review. Such a review is being urged by governors and members of Congress.

[WernhamHogg]

5. What's next?

They are letting the Treasury Department decided what is and is not a security risk? What's next? Appointing a horse judge as the head of FEMA????

Oh wait... ;-)

[Cassandra]

6. Snow's main concern was his wallet

[rodeodance]

7. this sale did not raise to the level of review to inform the WH top people

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. So much for their Homeland Security

We all have to take off our shoes and grandma gets patted down just to go on vacation, yet BushCo is going to open the gates to our ports wide open for their Trojan Horses. How is this protecting America?

[Cobalt Violet]

13. As long as they can read our mail and listen to our phone calls...

We will all be safe forever.

:sarcasm:

[rodeodance]

10. even the GAO objected to such assessments.

....Mr. Bush and his top aides are strongly resisting that. Even before the transfer became known, the administration's review of foreign business deals had come under criticism for not being sufficiently sensitive to national security.

In September, the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Treasury Department, as head of the interagency committee that reviews such deals, had used an overly narrow definition of national security threats because it wanted to encourage foreign investment.

The department disputed those findings, saying that the committee had used an adequate definition and that decisions had been reached by consensuses of agencies with differing interests.