"The White House said that President Bush had not known about the $6.8bn (£3.9bn) sale of the British company P&O, which manages the eastern US ports, to Dubai Ports World before it was agreed, but he rejected suggestions that it might endanger US security."

'Larry Johnson, a former counterterrorism official at the CIA and the state department, and now a private security consultant, said the UAE had a poor record of security: "Their ports are some of the biggest smuggling centres in the world."'

And there ya have it, folks. From here.