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."
Some of us "uniformed" people are quite informed on this deal.
President Bush must comply with the 45-day review law. And he should be ashamed for trying to rush the deal through without complying with the 45-day review law. It just smells bad.
If you read, all the GOP critics in congress are asking for is for the President to comply with a law already on the books that addresses this situation.
I don't want any Islamic entity establishing a beachhead in this hemisphere let alone this country.
I don't want even one mosque or Muslim owned store planted in my dirt.
I know - even if there was some grand plan (CIA-ish) in all of this and he asked us to just "trust him" - I just can't get Harriet Miers out of my mind.
I view Islam and its adherents as our enemy and I can't imagine a scenario where encouraging the enemy to open business in our midst is some sort of grand strategy.
Google News Search on 45-day mandatory review period
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=45+port+dubai&btnG=Search+News
The prophet also says that it is perfectly acceptable to lie to infidels. Did you get that memo, Ted?
"Bush has not been wrong-footed yet on things related to national survival."
Huh? What about his ignoring the invasion of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California? His job is to protect our citizens and the integrity of our nation. He is failing miserably at that.
Now, about the port business - what have the ports to do with Iran?
I support President Bush on just about every issue, but not on this one. He needs to cut and run as fast as he can.
Well, you may be the exception but I think most people are uninformed having only heard of the issue 2 or 3 days ago.
Please provide a link about a 45 day rule that Bush is not complying with. There is so much Democratic demogoguery on this issue that unless I see a source for it I would be tempted to think that that 45 day thing was just more of the same.
I could be wrong, but I'd have to see a good source to be convinced.
I'm with you. The time has come to resist the Islami invasion of the west. And reverse it.
Sorry...just read your link and will check it out.
I really dislike the "Trust us, we're the government" response.
This administration should've seen this coming and should've educated the country in advance on just why this is the right thing to do, if that is the case.
Congress can override the Prez's veto. I pray they do! I hate the idea of Arabs running our key ports, or anything at all in the United States! It's the stupidest, most destructive idea since Clinton sold our military edge to China for some votes.
Rush, is that you?
The President can put a 45 day hold or extension to the CFAIS review, but he doesn't have to.
The President should have complied with the 45-day review law on this deal rather than try to pretend it doesn't exist. Honor the law, Mr. President.
How about coaxing Iraq toward that democratic election?
Pretty important stuff.
What really makes me suspect the thinking behind this is that it is very stupid to make an obviously empty threat.
Bush's veto threat was an obviously empty threat. If he vetoed it would be suicidal for him and his veto would be easily overridden in Congress. After his open borders policy, after Harriet Miers, Bush can no longer count on the automatic trust of the conservative base.
If it turns out on closer inspection that someone close to him has gotten a whole lot of Dubai money to grease this there is going to be hell to pay.
I have read on many threads on this forum that lying, misrepresentation, etc. is allowed in the qu'ran to achieve the ultimate goal of subjugation.
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