Treasury's Snow says staff handled Dubai ports deal

[sabra]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060223:MTFH34018_2006-02-23_19-10-57_N23265870:1

Treasury's Snow says staff handled Dubai ports deal

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb 23 (Reuters) - Bush administration officials who approved an Arab company's purchase of operations to manage major U.S. ports saw no reason for security concerns but were not intended to consider political consequences, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Thursday.

Snow, who is chairman of the interagency panel that reviewed the deal, was asked by reporters why he had only learned of it only after its approval stirred a furor in Washington.

"This is a process that falls upon the highly professional, highly competent and highly capable personnel of these agencies that comprise CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States)," Snow said after touring a company that makes solar-energy panels. "If they see an issue that needs to be elevated for discussion because a national-security interest is presented, they elevate it."

...

"We don't want people whose major interest is the security interest of the United States wearing a political hat," Snow said.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. Want to try that under oath Mr. Snow?

Oh yeah, they don't do that anymore.

Dilbert doen't realize how lucky he is.

[Quakerfriend]

2. ROFL!

:rofl:

They must freaking out because the people are suddenly alert and oriented!

Their game is almost up!

[UpInArms]

3. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? .... eom

[kurth]

4. Actually, the deal was handled by a low-level clerk...

[Lance_Boyle]

14. no doubt one "in the bowels of the agency"

I'm pretty sure that's who screwed up the threat assessments before 9/11, too, according to "Dr. Rice." Lots of deep agency bowels in DC... good cover for those never-responsible republicans.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. They have an answer for everything.

I hope one of those staffers becomes a whistle blower. I bet we'll find the same thing we found at the CIA with Cheney banging on tables.

[rodeodance]

6. well, these descriptors do not match their performance at the Senate

briefing today.



"This is a process that falls upon the highly professional, highly competent and highly capable personnel of these agencies that comprise CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States)," Snow said after touring a company that makes solar-energy panels. "If they see an issue that needs to be elevated for discussion because a national-security interest is presented, they elevate it."

[gasperc]

7. and handled it quite well indeed

and can we take down some names and numbers, cause about 300million Americans are ass kickin mad

[progressivebydesign]

8. Weren't they once the "party of personal responsibility?"

Cuz, I've never seen a bigger bunch of finger-pointers in my life! "he did it!" "No HE did it!" "It wasn't MY job!" "Staff did it!" "I didn't know about it!". Oh.. the chorus of the Bush Admin.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. They don't call him Mr Snow for nothing.

[Beetwasher]

10. "Nobody Could Have Foreseen There Would Be Nat'l Security Issues

involved". Is that what he's saying? No security concerns in who runs our fucking ports? These guys are keeping us safe from terrorists????

"Nobody could have predicted the levees being breached"

"Nobody could have predicted planes being used as weapons"

"Nobody could have predicted there wouldn't be WMD's"

"Nobody could have foreseen the chaos in Iraq"

Etc.

[Betsy Ross]

11. So if it was handled by lower level staff,

the resulting furor over the deal is firm evidence that they didn't have a clue as to how Americans would feel about it. Oh wait, they don't care how we feel. Never mind.

[gratuitous]

12. Another case of self-writing contracts

Of course, the immediate question is "Who was on the task force doing this committee job while the Secretary of the Treasury was blowing off his obligation?" But I suppose that's a matter of national security, so we'll never know. This contract just wrote itself!

[yellowcanine]

13. Ok, in most agencies from county on up, "staff" develop a proposal

but it is the agency head that is responsible for signing off on it and releasing it to the public. Does it work differently in Bush's government? A proposal involving the ownership of 6 U.S. ports doesn't get routed through the chair of the interagency panel and the President? Come now, Mr. Snowjob, you don't reaclly expect us to believe that do you? And if you don't think port ownership has national security implications perhaps you should resign now, Mr. Secretary of Snowjobs.