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Bill Clinton Advised U.A.E. on Ports Deal

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Former President Bill Clinton has reportedly advised the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on how to navigate through the controversy surrounding the U.A.E.’s proposed operation of several U.S. seaport terminals.

According to the Financial Times, Clinton this week called leaders at Dubai Ports World, the company involved in the deal, and proposed a 45-day delay to allow U.S. lawmakers and others to review the particulars of the transaction.

The U.S. ports are currently operated by British ports and shipping firm P&O, which has agreed a $6.8 Billion takeover by Dubai Ports World.

The former president’s position on the Dubai deal puts him at odds with his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has vehemently opposed the deal, supposedly on conditions of national security.

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Sen. Clinton has led a legislative effort to block the ports deal, arguing that, especially after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the United States could not afford to "surrender our port operations to foreign governments.”

The former president’s spokesperson told the Financial Times: "President Clinton is the former president of the U.S. and as such receives many calls from world leaders and leading figures every week. About two weeks ago, the Dubai leaders called him and he suggested that they submit to the full and regular scrutiny process and that they should put maximum safeguards and security into any port proposal."

The ports controversy has made strange bedfellows in Washington, with many GOP lawmakers at odds with the Bush administration, which favors the deal.

Bill Clinton’s involvement with the U.A.E. may spring from his apparently chummy relationship with the country he calls "a good ally to America.” Clinton in 2002, after leaving the White House, was paid $300,000 to address a summit in Dubai.

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