U.S. National Security: For sale to the highest bidder.

This port deal with UAE's DP World keeps getting better and better. Now we discover that the acquisition encompasses 21, NOT 6 U.S. ports. So when exactly was the administration going to make that little fact public? And then there's the issue of Bush nominating David C. Sanborn as head of the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation on the SAME DAY as the approval of the port deal by the semi-secret Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Who is David C. Sanborn? He's the former Director of Europe and Latin America operations for you guessed it, DP World. Coincidence? Better chance of being struck twice by lightning while holding a black cat under a ladder on Friday the thirteenth. You get the picture.

Turns out that DP World was really hot to acquire the British company (P&O) that managed these 21 ports. They trumped a bid by a Singapore company by 10.6% to get the acquisition. Of course the only way you can find that out is to read a document on P&O's website that is marked as "NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM CANADA, JAPAN, OR THE UNITED STATES". Gee, I wonder why they don't want U.S. citizens to read about that? Something fishy here.

All the while, Bush & Co. say "don't worry, everything's alright, trust us". Right. Sure. What was that P.T. Barnum once said? President Bush threatens to veto any legislation that would block the acquisition, and then, the following day, claims that he didn't actually know about the deal until he heard about it in the media. Sure. And I suppose that you didn't know that David Sanborn was a former DP World exec.? These guys can't even get their lies straight.

The bottom line it that national security is taking a back seat to the financial security of the well-connected.

I expect to see a classified ad soon that reads: "FOR SALE - 230 yr. old democracy, low mileage, trusting and easily manipulated population, includes large nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals, priced to move. Only seriously questionable foreign agents or huge unscrupulous multi-nationals need apply."