Rossputin.com Rational Thinking About Our World

CNBC is reporting that Dubai Ports World will transfer the ports that they would have run as part of their takeover of P&O to a US Entity.

Senator John Warner was on the floor of the Senate announcing the transfer of the US ports to a US investor. I think they gave him the news because he has been one of the few voices of reason in the Senate on the issue.

However, given the vagueness of the announcment, it isn't yet clear whether DP World already has the investor lined up or whether they are fishing for candidates and are just expressing their desire to unload the US ports. It is not obvious what US "investor" would be able to run the ports.

If DP world gets this done, it will be a HUGE political gift to President Bush, and somewhat less to to Republicans in general. In the end, the big winner is probably the Democrats and unions. The Dems get to argue that the Republicans are not as good as voters had thought on national security. The unions get to prevent one of the most modernizing forces in the port business from making some major US ports more efficient, i.e. needing fewer union jobs.

[more as I learn more....]