WASHINGTON/DUBAI, 23 February 2006 — Insisting he will back a deal to put a Dubai company in charge of six large American ports, President George W. Bush appeared ready to take on his own allies in Congress who are against it.
Bush warned that — for the first time during the six years he’s been in office — he would use his presidential veto to overturn any congressional legislation threatening the deal. Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by House and Senate leaders, both Democrat and Republican, that the $6.8 billion deal could raise the risk of terrorism at US ports or allow terrorists to slip into the country unnoticed.
Even Bush’s Republican allies in Congress have vowed to block the contract until a thorough investigation has been carried out on Dubai Ports World (DPW), a ports operator owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.
Unless Congress prevents it, DPW’s acquisition of the British firm P&O is to be finalized on March 2. The ports affected by the deal are in New York, Miami, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
The deal is seen as a test case for Arab investment in the US. “I think it sends a terrible signal to friends around the world,” the president said Tuesday, adding that he’s not sure about the need for congressional briefings on a company whose record is well established and whom he called “an ally in the war on terror.” “I can understand why some in Congress have raised questions about whether or not our country will be less secure as a result of this transaction. But they need to know that our government has looked at this issue, and looked at it carefully,” he said.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defense secretary, praised the UAE as a reliable ally in the war on terror, “a very, very solid partner in our workings in the Gulf.”
The White House launched a campaign yesterday to reassure the public that the sale was safe. Senior administration officials have filled radio and TV slots to explain why they approve the deal, the first-ever sale involving US port operations to a foreign, state-owned company.
Yesterday, presidential adviser Dan Bartlett said that security for the ports will remain with the United States. “The physical security of the ports is at the charge of the Coast Guard. The actual cargo that comes in on the ships, is ... charged to the United States Customs Service. So it’s critically important for America to understand that doesn’t change — not today, not tomorrow, not next week, not six months from now. They are in charge of the security of our ports,” Bartlett said.
“The country in question has been a strong partner in the war on terror. They are helping us cut off financing. They are working side by side with military. They are sharing intelligence. If we are going to win this ... we have to be adding partners in the Middle East, not subtracting,” he added.
