Posted on 02/22/2006 3:54:45 AM PST by LouAvul
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers determined to capsize the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates said President Bush's surprise veto threat won't deter them.
Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House that the $6.8 billion sale could raise risks of terrorism at American ports. In a forceful defense of his administration's earlier approval of the deal, he pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement.
The sale's harshest critics were not appeased.
"I will fight harder than ever for this legislation, and if it is vetoed I will fight as hard as I can to override it," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. King and Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record) of New York said they will introduce emergency legislation to suspend the ports deal.
Another Democrat, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, urged his colleagues to force Bush to wield his veto, which Bush — in his sixth year in office — has never done. "We should really test the resolve of the president on this one because what we're really doing is securing the safety of our people."
The White House and supporters planned a renewed campaign this week to reassure the public the sale was safe. Senior officials were expected to explain at a press conference Wednesday what persuaded them to approve the deal, the first-ever sale involving U.S. port operations to a foreign, state-owned company.
The sale — set to be completed in early March — would put Dubai Ports in charge of major shipping operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. "If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward," Bush said.
Defending his decision, Bush responded to a chorus of objections this week in Congress over potential security concerns in the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
Bush's veto threat sought to quiet a political storm that has united Republican governors and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee with liberal Democrats, including New York Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Schumer.
To assuage concerns, the administration disclosed some assurances it negotiated with Dubai Ports. It required mandatory participation in U.S. security programs to stop smuggling and detect illegal shipments of nuclear materials; roughly 33 other port companies participate in these voluntarily. The Coast Guard also said it was nearly finished inspecting Dubai Ports' facilities in the United States.
A senior Homeland Security official, Stewart Baker, said U.S. intelligence agencies were consulted "very early on to actually look at vulnerabilities and threats."
Frist said Tuesday, before Bush's comments, that he would introduce legislation to put the sale on hold if the White House did not delay the takeover. He said the deal raised "serious questions regarding the safety and security of our homeland.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., asked the president for a moratorium on the sale until it could be studied further. "We must not allow the possibility of compromising our national security due to lack of review or oversight by the federal government," Hastert said.
Maryland's Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, during a tour of Baltimore's port, called the deal an "overly secretive process at the federal level."
Bush took the rare step of calling reporters to his conference room on Air Force One after returning from a speech in Colorado. He also stopped to talk before television cameras after he returned to the White House.
"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," the president said. "But they need to know that our government has looked at this issue and looked at it carefully."
A senior executive from Dubai Ports World pledged the company would agree to whatever security precautions the U.S. government demanded to salvage the deal. Chief operating officer Edward "Ted" H. Bilkey promised Dubai Ports "will fully cooperate in putting into place whatever is necessary to protect the terminals."
Bilkey traveled to Washington in an effort to defuse the growing controversy.
Bush said protesting lawmakers should understand that if "they pass a law, I'll deal with it with a veto."
Lawmakers from both parties have noted that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used the United Arab Emirates as an operational and financial base. In addition, critics contend the UAE was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist.
Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, and Rep. Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said they would introduce a "joint resolution of disapproval" when they returned to Washington next week. Collins heads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Harman is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Bush's veto threat didn't stop local efforts to block the deal. New Jersey's governor, Jon S. Corzine, said the state will file lawsuits in federal and state courts opposing the agreement. Corzine, a Democrat, cited a "deep, deep feeling that this is the wrong direction for our nation to take."
I believe the Dutch company Marsk could be a possibility. From what I've heard, there are NO American companies capable of this operation; those who keep naming Haliburton notwithstanding.
These arabs are much more astute than their neighbors and understand that the oil will run out or be outcompeted at some point and if there is no other source of income UAE will revert to sand and dates. It's called diversifcation. The natives of that coast and those little islands have been traders and port managers for centuries. That is what they do.
Oh good grief, they can read a map as well as you or I can.
There were no public hearing, no public review. Right now, I would bet, the vast majority of the country thinks that this just shows how secretive this administration is and the response has been nothing but arrogance. Bush now wants to use his veto power, wow talk about arrogance. I five years he hasn't used it once but he is willing to do it now...why?
Thank you. That is the point that so many Freepers ignore. A politician is still a politician and must consider his contituency.
I wish Bush could be this strong when it comes to controlling the budget.
And why did you think there would be? That doesn't happen with business deals.
If you want to change that, you'll have to change the law. But I doubt that the public is going to care about a public hearing every time one company buys another.
This deal was not done in secret. It was done in the same way it's always done.
ooohhhh..............it's too d&^n early in the morning for this.............need more coffee........
I think he is trying to avoid the appearance that we just don't trust Muslims.....maybe trying to avoid civil war here.....
The misdirection is as to whether we are really so tightly allied, whether we really have political control in the Strait. Lack of political control complicates terribly the necessary military control. Sure the Iranians can read the moves, and probably correctly but they cannot be sure of what is going down. Any introduction of uncertainty is a military move.
see post 78
This is the only statement I take exception to in your post. He is failing on the issue of illegal immigration. Beyond that I think you may be on to something and, like you, are willing to take a 'wait and see' attitude.
The ONLY reason I can see him being so uncompromising on this is that there has to be something far more involved that just port management.
If, as I've read elsewhere on FR, Repubs in Congress have known about this since November and are just now starting to speak out against it, then it's solely because they've heard from their base and are caving in to pressure.
I agree with you at this point; let's wait and see.
Nope. Singapore is not part of Indonesia. It is a separate city/country at the end of the Malaysian peninsula.
The largest religious group in Singapore are the Buddhists(42.5%). Islam makes up 15%, roughly the same percentage as Christianity for comparison.
Ummm.. The Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist are speaking out in this article.
Harriet Miers didn't have one damn thing to do with getting Alitto confirmed.
Did you miss this part: "roughly 33 other port companies".
My sense is that only liberals will be against Bush on this when all is said and done.
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