Posted on 02/17/2006 7:51:42 AM PST by presidio9
Two U.S. Democratic senators said on Friday they would introduce legislation aimed at blocking Dubai Ports World from buying a company that operates several U.S. shipping ports because of security concerns.
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Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York said they would offer a measure to ban companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from acquiring U.S. port operations.
"We wouldn't turn the border patrol or the customs service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either," Menendez said in a statement.
P&O, the company Dubai Ports World plans to buy for $6.8 billion, is already foreign-owned but the concern is that the purchaser is backed by the United Arab Emirates government.
The UAE company would gain control over the management of major U.S. ports in New York and New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami, sparking national security concerns.
"I will be working with Senator Menendez to introduce legislation that will prohibit the sale of ports to foreign governments," Clinton said in a statement.
Officials with the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a U.S. inter-agency panel that reviews security implications of foreign takeovers of strategic assets, has already reviewed the transaction and did not object.
Despite that review, some Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress urged the Bush administration to conduct a more rigorous review. They expressed fears that the UAE was used as a conduit for parts used for nuclear proliferation and that the local banking system had been abused by financiers with possible links to terrorist organizations.
U.S. officials have said the UAE has been a solid and cooperative partner in the fight against terrorism, and have praised the UAE for steps to protect its booming financial sector against abuse by terrorism financiers.
Money for the September 11 attacks was wired through the UAE's banking system, according to U.S. officials. Two of the September 11 hijackers were UAE citizens.
U.S. seaports handle 2 billion tons of freight each year but only about 5 percent of containers entering the United States are examined on arrival.
Similar concerns were raised when a China state-controlled oil company tried to acquire the U.S. oil company Unocal. After pressure from American lawmakers, the foreign company eventually dropped out of the bidding.
Despite that review, some Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress urged the Bush administration to conduct a more rigorous review. They expressed fears that the UAE was used as a conduit for parts used for nuclear proliferation and that the local banking system had been abused by financiers with possible links to terrorist organizations.
I don't see what it has to do with banking. The security measures for traffic in and out of the port are another matter, but I'd like to see what the agency based its decision on before jumping to conclusions. I doubt that the company would necessarily have lax security just because it was an Arab company. Afterall, its employees are likely to be American, and if they did have lax security, the ports that hire them would likely give them the boot.
A more troublesome problem, though, is whether ownership of this company might give them special access to information about security that would be of use to terrorists.
I'm sure we're all nostalgic for the days of organized crime, but I can guarantee you that organized crime has been only too happy to assist terrorist whenever it was financially advantageous to do so. The mafia is not patriotic.
Actually it's a crying shame that you are proving PT Barnum right(there is a sucker born every minute).
Because it wasn't Danes that hit the WTC?
Not one? Sheesh. And why secret I wonder?
I just hate the fact that the Administration has created a situation where I agree with Hillary! over anything.
No they didn't, but who would you rather have overseeing port security, hillary clinton(who pardodned Puerto Rican terrorists for votes) or GW Bush.
I don't think it should go through either, but the hypocrisy of Hillary is astounding.
He didn't say but he mentioned that Specter was on the committee, I believe. I came in on the middle of the interview and King was upset. He said very few knew what was going on.
Uh the Adiminisration didn't create this situation. If anything it was the staockholders of the British owned P&O who sold to the Dubai company.
Like I said before, how come no outrage that a foreign company was already operating in US ports. Oh that's right hillary saw no political pandering in that.
The suckers are the ones letting this deal go down. You might want to look toward Washington.
The better question would be American companies opposed to arab, right? No American company even bid on this. The bidding was short and secret.
Snort.
Good. Arabs are not our friends.
Oh that's right hillary, would never ever be part of a huckster show, for her own aggrandizement, excuse me.(rolling eyes)
What a guy! *rolling eyes*
And Dick Cheney was drunk while hunting, correct.
It wasn't "secret", the markets knew, and no American company thought it to be a viable venture it seems.
You know more about this than King? I'll take his word over yours.
Fine no problem, doesn't bother me one bit.
BTW, where was Rep. King's outrage over a foreign company already operating in a US port.
His objection is to ARAB control. They would have to know all our security protocols.
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