Hillary Didn't Know Bill Was Coaching the UAE on Ports Deal?

Guess Hill missed the giant deposits going into their bank account. From MSNBC:

Hillary Clinton, a leading opponent of DP World's takeover of some US port operations, was this week forced to admit that she did not know her husband had advised Dubai leaders on how to handle the growing dispute.

But former President Bill Clinton's ties to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates should not have come as a surprise to his New York senator wife.

Mrs Clinton's own senatorial financial disclosure forms reveal that her husband earned $450,000 giving speeches in Dubai in 2002.

Officials from the UAE also donated between $500,000 and $1m to fund Mr Clinton's presidential library in Arkansas.

It was part of an effort by the emirates, said a person close to UAE officials, to forge a close relationship with a former US president who is influential and highly regarded in the region.

Folks in the Emirates seem to be a tad disillusioned with the Clintons:

MANY residents of UAE thought — mistakenly as it turns out — that they knew the Clintons. Former president Bill and former co-president/current New York Senator Hillary were deemed to be friends of the UAE — and the Arab world in general.

While Hillary hadn’t visited the UAE recently, Bill is a regular — at least when he’s invited for a paid speech or appearance. Sometimes, he’s graced us in person — other times via a video conference. President Bush, everyone agreed, was an anti-Arab cowboy, worthy of little more than derision.

And Slick Willy wasn't the only beneficiary of UAE hospitality:

Other members of the travelling anti-Bush Democratic Party roadshow have also popped into the UAE for a paid appearance or two. Former VP candidate John Edwards honoured us with his wisdom last year as did the woman best remembered by many for opposing the 1991 liberation of Kuwait, ex-secretary of State Madeline Albright, who flew in last December.

Via Cookie at The Cook Shack--Gab & Grub.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.