| ||||||||||||||
|
Local News & Opinion
Ref. : Local Newsbriefs Travel
Letters
Ref. : Letters to the editor Open Letters:
03.05 Open Letter to Congressman Bart Stupak Health & Environment
Video National Health Care Systems In Other Countries 03.20 The Death of American Populism 03.18 Pressure Drop: Brave Sir Dennis Ran Away 03.12 Slick Barry and the $100-Billion Medicaid/Medicare Fraud Claim 03.09 Kill Bill: Death to Obamacare! 03.09 Obama’s Rhetoric May Be “Fiery,” But His Health Care Reform Is Still Lukewarm Media Watching
03.17 CNN Scrapes Bottom of Right-Wing Barrel With Erickson Hire 03.16 WPost Blames Obama First, on Israel 03.16 Letter to the New York Times' Editor: Stovepiping To Persia 03.12 Cud and Complicity: Burying the Alternatives to Empire's Dominion 03.11 NYT and the ACORN Hoax 03.05 Sorry, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq 03.03 It's Snow News 03.03 The Woeful Washington Post Ref. : The Daily Howler Legal Matters
02.26 America's Supremes: Court Over Constitution US Politics, Policy & Culture
03.11 Power Rangers: Policing the System With the "Fightin' Progressives" 03.09 Thinking About Countings 03.07 Unnatural Acts: Breaking the Fever of Militarism 02.25 Future Shock: A Better World Beyond the Imperium High Crimes?
03.19 Israel's Troubling Tilt Toward Apartheid 03.18 The Lawfare Project's Anti-Democratic Agenda 03.16 America's Secret Prisons 03.13 Palestinian Dispossession in East Jerusalem 03.12 Israeli Settlement Expansions Continue 03.11 Brutalizing Palestinian Children 03.08 The Russell Tribunal on Palestine: Barcelona Session 03.05 Targeting Israeli Apartheid 03.01 America's Permanent War Agenda 02.25 Global Sweatshop Wage Slavery Economics & Business Non/Mis/Malfeasance
03.19 The Growing Movement For Publicly-Owned Banks 03.19 America's "Houdini Recovery" under IMF-Type Austerity 03.14 The Crisis in America's Telecommunications Network 03.09 The Business of Water: Privatizing An Essential Resource 03.05 Is the Recovery Real? 03.04 IMF-Style Austerity Measures come to America: What “Fiscal Responsibility” Means To You 03.04 Barry C. Lynn's "Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and Economics of Destruction" 03.01 Thinking About Fees International
03.15 Peace Process Hypocrisy: Stillborn from Inception 03.03 Muslim Disunity 03.02 Funding Israeli Militarism, Belligerence and Occupation 02.26 Iran Captures a 'Good' Terrorist We are a non-profit Internet-only newspaper publication founded in 1973. Your donation is essential to our survival.
|
COMMENTARY:Bush Approves Sale of US Military Parts Suppliers to UAE GovernmentDubai International Capital LLC (which is owned by the UAE) lists both the Carlyle Group and Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) as co-investments.
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Scott "Scottie" McClellan announced Friday that George W. Bush approved the sale of 9 US defense-related production plants to Dubai International Capital, owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, in a $1.24 billion takeover of the British firm Doncasters Group Ltd. Among the plants sold is the sole supplier of turbine fan parts for the US military's Abrams tank fans.
Since "...the plants make turbine blades for tanks and aircraft, the deal was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which sent it on to Bush for a decision, a step used only when the potential security risks or political considerations are particularly acute," according to CBS' Market Watch. "...One official who was briefed on the Doncasters transaction said there would be provisions in the agreement protecting American military secrets. But it was unclear whether that would satisfy Congressional objections." "The committee almost never met, and when it deliberated it was usually at a fairly low bureaucratic level," Richard Perle said. Perle, who has worked for the Reagan, Clinton and both Bush administrations added, "I think it's a bit of a joke." "The formal CFIUS review is not the most important element in the approval process. CFIUS does not require unanimity among all the agencies involved, but a disputed decision to approve a sale would be escalated to the cabinet level or to the President for appeal....In 1993, Congress amended Exon-Florio to require foreign, government-controlled companies to obtain CFIUS approval before acquiring U.S. companies when the foreign purchaser is 'controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government' and the acquisition 'could result in control of a person engaged in interstate commerce in the U.S. that could affect the national security of the United States." Established in 2004, Dubai International Capital LLC. [DIC] is a Dubai-based international investment company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates that primarily focuses on private equity. The deal was originally announced by DIC. Dubai International Capital LLC lists both the Carlyle Group and Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) as co-investments. George H.W. Bush (41), former U.S. President, was a Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board from April 1998 to October 2003, almost two years after his son took office. Among its various military projects, the Carlyle Group is, through its various investments, a major contractor for the US Missile Defense System, which has been expedited by the Bush Administration prior to its being fully tested. The system is the single costliest defense budget item for the current budget year. George W. Bush (43) was on the board of directors from 1990-1992 of a Carlyle investment gone bad (Caterair), which was later sold at a loss. Then as Governor of Texas, Bush appointed several persons to the board of Texas teachers' pension funds, which later decided to invest $100 million dollars of public money in the Carlyle Group.
Among the Carlyle Group notables are: current Secretary of the Treasury and chairman of CFIUS John W. Snow; former Secretary of State Colin Powell; and former Secretary of State and 2000 Bush campaign advisor James Baker III. According to Doncasters, "This investment follows a series of strategic, value-driven investments by DIC"--Dubai International Capital – including "a US$1 billion investment in DaimlerChrysler." Chip Yost is a progressive activist who can be read daily on Chip's blog.
Read more: Copyright © 2006 The Baltimore Chronicle.
All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent. This story was published on May 1, 2006. |
| ||||||||||||