THE attempt by a group of US Congressman to block the takeover of six US ports by an Arab company is wrong. In vowing that he will veto any legislation that stops this purely commercial transaction, President Bush is showing wisdom.
The UAE company, Dubai Ports World (DPW) an established international port operator, is in the process of acquiring, for a friendly bid of $6.8 billion, the ports business of the British company P&O. As part of the deal, the Arab company would acquire the responsibility for running ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
Some Democratic senators have joined Sen. Bill Frist, Republican leader in the Senate, in a move to legislate against the deal on grounds of national security. One of their concerns is that two of the perpetrators of 9/11 crimes were UAE citizens. They fear that Arab management of US ports might offer an opportunity for international terrorists to attack the US.
Unfortunately, this is bigoted nonsense that once again raises the deeply objectionable notion that all Muslims are terrorists. Leaving aside the fact that any attempt to stop the free movement of investment capital would probably run afoul of WTO rules, this reaction to the takeover is not only irrational but also lacks sense. Sen. Frist and his colleagues seem oblivious to the fact that British legislators have voiced no such objection to the fact that some UK ports will also be owned and run by DPW. Nor have there been any protests from authorities in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic — all countries in which DPW operates.
The US Customs and Coast Guard have introduced a strict procedure for the control of containers entering US ports — in 2005, there were 10 million. A full cargo manifest has to be filed by every vessel at least 24 hours before it enters US waters. High technology initiatives to scan the contents of containers and tag them with tamper-proof radio monitoring devices are already well advanced. There are no reasonable grounds for supposing that the way in which DPW would run the six US ports would be any less secure than under P&O’s management.
The knee jerk reaction of Sen. Frist and his colleagues is as regrettable as it is ignorant. President Bush is right to say that if this deal is blocked, it will send entirely the wrong signal to the rest of the world about the even-handedness of US foreign policy. The suspicion must be that these US legislators are playing to the electoral gallery in advance of the November elections.
In seeking, however, to discredit a highly reputable international firm on the grounds that it is Arab, these politicians discredit themselves.
We hope that US voters share their president’s distaste for this objectionable initiative. It could not be better calculated to reinforce suspicion that Washington’s claims to recognize that the Muslim world is solidly against terrorism are actually untrue.
