Dubai Ports Deal Goes Poof

Recognizing that the political hysteria underway in Washington will never allow the Dubai World Ports deal to go through, Dubai has announced that they will divest themselves of the American part of the deal and transfer those operations to an American firm:

United Arab Emirates-owned DP World said Thursday it would transfer its operations of American ports to a U.S. "entity" after congressional leaders reportedly told President Bush that the firm's takeover deal was essentially dead on Capitol Hill.

"Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship ... DP World will transfer fully the U.S. operations of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity," Edward H. Bilkey, DP World's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The announcement did not specify which U.S. company would be involved.

Can you say "Halliburton"? It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they got the nod.

You have to wonder just how strong the relationship between Dubai and the U.S. will be after this is all said and done. I heard today that Dubai has options for something like 42 Boeing 777's, which they chose over rival Airbus. However, there's nothing stopping them from backing out of the deal and giving the business to the Europeans. Dubai might not be real fond of the treatment they've received at the hands of Congress the last couple of days, and a little backlash might be expected.