Sourcefire and Check Point call off the merger

This really disappoints me.  I was concerned when the federal government started getting involved with the merger between Sourcefire and Check Point, but I thought it would still go through.  But the road blocks that have been thrown in their way have made it impossible for the two companies to do business together.

Both of the press releases are sparse on details, but at least Sourcefire makes it clear that it was the interference from the Comittee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) that made this deal fall through.  I know Check Point is a foreign company, but there is little or no technology that they would be gaining through the merger that wasn't already part of the Open Source domain.  In other words, the core of Sourcefire's technolgy, Snort, is already freely downloadable by anyone, anywhere.  So why would this be a concern to CFIUS?

I talked to Alan Shimel from StillSecure about the purchase earlier this month, and neither of us could come up with a legitimate reason for the interference.  I can only think of three reasons the government would be involved; xenophobia, hope of gaining something from either of the companies or lack of understanding of the technology.  Any of the three is entirely possible, but I'm inclined to believe a lack of understanding is the least likely.  So did the government want something Sourcefire and Check Point didn't want to give up?  Or was the CFIUS just afraid to let Sourcfire's technology go to a company that wasn't wholly owned and operated in the US?