Republican senator plans foreign divestiture bill (kill bill)

[katty]

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=11404933&src=rss/topNews
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Thursday he would introduce legislation requiring foreign companies to divest any holdings of U.S. infrastructure critical to national security.
Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, also vowed to "kill" with legislation a pending deal to allow a state-owned Arab company to manage terminals in major U.S. ports.

He said infrastructure such as ports, electric grids and power plants should not be owned by foreign firms. Under his legislation, "Any foreign companies that own critical infrastructure would be required to divest so it's owned by Americans," Hunter told reporters.

[cdsilv]

1. and just what are 'Americans' supposed to buy it with??? More debt, ...

...owed to China?

The GOP has 'defecited' the US into bankruptcy. And by their own fiat, the bankrupt can no longer 'erase' their debts....

[katty]

2. don't know what hunter is smokin! totally clueless?or grandstanding

I pick grandstanding

[biscotti]

3. Perhaps to much

lemon chicken and rice pilaf.

[ShockediSay]

6. Bush bunch try to change stripes relying on short memories of voters

but I REMEMBER it was the Bush bunch who gave us

the war in Iraq (quagmire) based on cooked intel and predetermined course of action with no thought to consequences of occupation (see Downing Street memos)

the war in Afghanistan (never finished when we had the chance)

tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the backbone and infrastructure Americans

deficit leaving America weak and vulnerable

Medicare prescriptions for the benefit of the lobbyists

Supreme Court for the benefit of the lobbyists

Big Government for the benefit of the lobbyists (bribery & corruption)

[AlCzervik]

7. and don't forget--2, 2 kinds of fruit.

[stillcool]

5. Carlyle /Halliburton ..they could easily buy it

...maybe Hunter wants to be cut in?..Otherwise it's a nice diversion...slight of hand trick. Not too impressive....I've seen Tweety do better.

[Pirate Smile]

4. Someone alert Reuters - Duncan Hunter is a Congressman, not a Senator.

:eyes:

[PhilipShore]

8. AP: Leading GOP lawmaker fights ports deal

The Associated Press/WASHINGTON
Leading GOP lawmaker fights ports deal
March 2, 2006

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8G3P0M00.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db

MAR. 2 7:39 P.M. ET One of the most prominent House Republicans on military issues said Thursday he would try to scuttle a Dubai-based company's effort to manage U.S. ports as lawmakers' complaints about the Bush administration's handling of the issue continued to spread.

"Dubai cannot be trusted," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and normally one of the administration's most trusted allies. He called the United Arab Emirates "a bazaar for terrorist nations" and asserted that the United States should not permit DP World to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports.

"I intend to do everything I can to kill the deal," Hunter said.

[Ignacio Upton]

9. I love the smell of political co-option in the morning!

Do NOT let the GOP try and neutralize this! THEIR President fucked up and THEIR Right-Wing Noise Machine is covering for him.

[rpannier]

10. Give it two months

They'll kill it and claim it was Clinton that tried to give the ports to the UAE.

[katty]

19. yup

[ShockediSay]

11. Bush bunch (Repugs) now changing stripes relying on short memories

but I REMEMBER it was the Bush bunch who gave us

the war in Iraq (quagmire) on the basis of cooked intel and predetermined action

the war in Afghanistan (never finished when we had the chance)

tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the backbone and infrastructure Americans

deficit leaving America weak and vulnerable

Medicare prescriptions for the benefit of the lobbyists

Supreme Court for the benefit of the lobbyists

Big Government for the benefit of the lobbyists (bribery &
corruption)

[Up2Late]

12. Panel Chairman to Fight Port Deal (Washington Post)

(I guess the "...oh, by the way, we're selling one of our defense industry companies that make critical components for our fighter jets and missiles to Dubai too..." finally got Hunter's attention.)

Panel Chairman to Fight Port Deal

Hunter Also Vows to Block Purchase by 2nd Dubai Firm

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 3, 2006; Page A07

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said yesterday that "Dubai cannot be trusted" to manage U.S. ports because of what he called its long record of assisting the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) vowed after a hearing to reverse a $6.8 billion port deal expected to be completed today. He also said he will push legislation that would block a second Dubai company's efforts to acquire two U.S. plants that manufacture precision components for military aircraft and tank engines.

A Washington Post report yesterday of Dubai International Capital's $1.2 billion acquisition of the London-based precision manufacturer Doncasters Group Ltd. and its U.S. defense plants further roiled an issue that White House and congressional GOP leaders had hoped would subside.

That deal, now under a national security investigation by the Bush administration, was cited by lawmakers from both parties as evidence that the process used to review a foreign company's purchase of U.S. assets is broken. The issue exploded last month after the administration approved, with no national security inquiry, Dubai Ports World's acquisition of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. and its management operations at six U.S. ports. Political leaders had hoped DP World's request on Sunday for a 45-day national security investigation of the deal would cool political tempers, but it has not.

"While I strongly support our open investment policy and recognize that it is vital to our national economic interest, I do not believe it should stand at any cost," Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate banking committee, told administration officials yesterday. "Everything in this country can't be for sale."

(more at link below)

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201886.html>

[radfringe]

13. E-Bay

why doesn't bush* just stick the whole country up on E-bay instead of selling it off piecemeal?

[Moderator]

14. Kick

[Wordie]

15. Republican Will Try to Squash Ports Deal (Duncan Hunter)

Duncan Hunter has said, "I intend to do everything I can to kill the deal."

Republican Will Try to Squash Ports Deal

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 2, 11:01 PM ET

WASHINGTON - ..."Dubai cannot be trusted," said Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and normally one of the administration's most trusted allies. He called the United Arab Emirates "a bazaar for terrorist nations" and asserted that the United States should not permit DP World to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports.

Opening a hearing on the matter, Hunter said it was "quite remarkable" that the administration did not initially undertake a full review of security implications, given that the company is owned by the United Arab Emirates — "a bazaar for terrorist nations to receive prohibited components from sources from the free world and from the non-free world."

...Leading Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee also asked the administration for details about all pending reviews of foreign business deals and any that have been conducted since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The U.S. has conducted only 25 such investigations among 1,600 business transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States since 1988. The panel, made up of 12 government representatives, judges the security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060303/ap_on_go_co/ports_security_201

Does anyone else think that his comments are Islamophobic and inflammatory?

[Sapere aude]

16. Does anyone else think that his comments are Islamophobic and inflammatory

I don't understand the question. Does being against the sale of the ports make you Islamophobic and inflammatory or is that what the Bushbots call it?

[jsamuel]

17. why don't you describe what you think is Islamophobic and inflammatory

specifically?

[IsItJustMe]

18. No. Why? because he said 'terrorist nations' and 'free world'

There are a hundred different reasons not to support this. To just say racist is just to simple and ignoranant.

Number one reason: Chimp is for it.