Bush Approves Another Dubai Outsourcing Deal

Posted on April 28, 2006

Today President Bush approved a deal under which a Dubai-based company will take over control of several U.S. plants that manufacture parts for American military contractors. But apparently no one in Congress is in the least bit concerned.

Initial reactions from Congress indicated that there would not be the opposition to the deal that prevented another Dubai-based company from taking over operations of several U.S. ports. "This was a transaction that was thoroughly reviewed and closely scrutinized," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in confirming the deal. "In the view of the committee, it does not compromise our national security."
As a condition of the president's approval, the company signed an agreement that promised an uninterrupted supply, McClellan said. The White House was in the process of informing key members of Congress of the president's decision. House leadership aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said lawmakers from both parties on the relevant committees had been briefed on the deal, and had agreed that necessary safeguards were in effect. They said there had been numerous contacts with the administration.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a leading opponent of the port deal, also said he did not plan to oppose the transaction. "There are two differences between this deal and the Dubai Ports deal," he said in a statement. "First, this went through the process in a careful, thoughtful way; and second this is a product not a service and the opportunity to infiltrate and sabotage is both more difficult and more detectable."

So this time around, no one in Congress minds because the White House fully briefed them before they turned over military equipment manufacturing plants to a Dubai-based company. It's ok, so long as Congress is informed of the deal beforehand. There is no need to discuss the advisability of turning over the manufacture of our military's equipment to a foreign company because Scott McClellan says it's not worth worrying our pretty little heads over.