The Financial Times and Bob Novak report that Bill Clinton has been advising top officials from Dubai on how to deal with the uproar over their nearly $7 billion acquisition of six American ports.
Hillary's husband called the United Arab Emirates a "good ally to America" (which is a good thing considering he sold them 80 F-16 fighter jets in 2000), and advised Dubai's leaders to propose a 45-day delay to allow for an intensive investigation of the acquisition, which is what the White House subsequently agreed to, and is what many in Congress are considering.
In what must be a prime example of the former president's ability to "compartmentalize," his intervention occurred as his wife was leading efforts to kill the deal.
And to confuse things even more in the Clinton household, Hillary opposes the 45-day delay, and Bill insists he supports his wife's position on the deal and that "ideally" state-owned companies would not own U.S. port operations.
It was also reported that the UAE paid President Clinton $300,000 in 2002 to address a summit in Dubai. No word whether Hillary insisted that he return these funds.
