Bush Presses Forward; Selects Syrian Postal Firm

President George W. Bush, undaunted by public debate over the deal that transfers shipping operations in six American ports to a Dubai national company, today announced the outsourcing of America’s postal service to Tadmur Express, a Syrian shipping firm.

“This shift will lower the cost of American shippers who want to ship something,” the President declared. “ Once we move forward on this, the cost of sending a standard first class letter will be 10 Syrian pounds—that’s less than 20 cents.”

Mr. Bush did note that some deliveries might be delayed during an adjustment period, adding, “It’s a small price to pay for paying less to mail things.” When the city of Rochester, New York conducted a test period, using Tadmur Express, surveys showed that on average, a letter mailed from one part of the city to another took only nine days to be delivered.

At a White House briefing, press secretary Scott McClellan refused to comment on how long such an “adjustment period” might take, noting, “the White House has a policy of not commenting on ongoing policy.”

On the Dubai port issue, senior White House officials say the President has privately suggested, “We may have overdone it on the ‘scary world, enemies everywhere’ stuff. Folks need to understand the difference between the general Arab world, who could be terrorists, and the rich Arab world, who are our friends.”