Bush Administration: Corporate Interests Always Prevail Over National Security

David Sirota is on this like a cheap suit on the 80s Ralph Nader:

A little-noticed Wall Street Journal story confirms what I've written about the UAE port scandal: that it has everything to do with Big Money's efforts to prioritize the free trade agenda over national security concerns. And now, the second Bush administration security official is admitting as much.

Here is the excerpt from the print edition (some of the excerpt is only in print and not online):

"Behind the scenes, business lobbyists are pushing for a compromise to resolve the Duvai deal without reopening the legislation that governs foreign takeovers at a moment when the issue is so hot politically...

A number of lawmakers, among them Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), have called for the committee [that approves such deals] to operate with more transparency, and some have urged that the law be changed to allow Congress to override any deal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business interests, backed by the administration, oppose such changes, arguing they could harm the climate for foreign investment in the U.S. and disrupt U.S. companies' ability to invest overseas."

Luckily, Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has already released details of legislation that he is going to be introducing that would force national security concerns to take precedent in trade and commerce negotiations. Incredibly, though, even the Bush administration's top national secuirty officials are toeing the corporate line. Here's White House National Secuirty Adviser Stephen Hadley quoted in the Wall Street Journal piece:

"What the Congress and the companies are able to work out, we'll support and cooperate with so long as it does not involve a summary decision by the Congress that blocks this transaction."

This is the second Bush security official to publicly prioritize the corporate agenda over national security (the first one being Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff). And their message is disgusting:

The supposedly "tough on terrorism" White House will only support Congressional national security legislation as long as it doesn't mess with the administration's corporate agenda.

Emphasis mine after I tossed my cookies listening to Hadley on "Face the Nation" yesterday morning. And no, this is not a euphemism, except I had a slice of toast rather than cookies for breakfast.