Republicans Anonymous

W and his Bush League minions have discovered they can't both fan people's fears of Muslims in general while simultaneously claiming that rich Muslims are trustworthy. So, they're going to Bush League playbook page 2 - the public concession that later turns out to be illusory:

Dubai firm pledges to transfer US ports
Thu Mar 9, 2006 9:47 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The state-owned Arab company Dubai Ports World pledged on Thursday to transfer operation of six U.S. port terminals to a U.S. entity, a move the White House said should settle a political firestorm surrounding the deal. But the U.S. Congress was skeptical.

Many lawmakers have demanded that the Dubai company be stopped from running the ports because of potential security risks, rebelling against President George W. Bush, whose administration approved the company's involvement in January.

"It does provide a way forward and resolve the matter ...," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said of the company's announcement.

The statement by Dubai Ports World's chief operating officer, Edward Bilkey, said that the company had decided to "transfer fully ... to a U.S. entity" the operation of North American ports terminals it had acquired from British-based

It currently sounds like Congress isn't going to fall for it this time:

"To simply say that the U.S. entity will be separate isn't enough. How will it be separate? How thick is the wall?" demanded New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer.

The company announcement is not clear enough, said Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the Middle East subcommittee of the House International Relations panel.

"Is the ports deal dead? Will the U.S. entity be a mere shell company?" she asked. "Current congressional plans are to move forward with the appropriations language next week which kills the transaction. Just to make sure."

One House Republican leadership aide said on Thursday that because of the company's announcement, there could be a motion to strike the language reversing the deal in the House next week -- but noted that this would still require a vote.
(Reuters)

My prediction is that the Republican whitewashers will cave in, and the deal will proceed. The interesting thing will be whether the U.S. subsidiary is required to store its records in the U.S., where they fall within the jurisdiction of our courts. One of the big untold stories behind this deal was how the Dubai company was going to be allowed to keep its business records offshore - well hidden from those pesky trial lawyers. Hard to prove laws were knowingly violated by a Dubai government-owned company if all the records are stored in Dubai...