Bush distances himself from ports deal

Herald Sun ^ | 23 February 2006

[Aussie Dasher]

THE White House sought to distance itself today from the US administration's approval of an Arab company's takeover of operations at major US ports, a day after President George W. Bush vowed to veto any legislation to block the deal.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president was not aware of the pending deal until it was approved and had become public but then checked with cabinet secretaries to make sure they stood by their approval of the plan by state-controlled Dubai Ports World to manage six ports.

Mr Bush held a rare news conference on Air Force One yesterday to say the deal should go forward despite lawmakers concerns it posed security risks and said he would veto legislation aimed at stopping it.

"He made sure to check with them (the cabinet) even after this got more attention from the press, to make sure they were comfortable with the decision that was made. Every one of the Cabinet secretaries expressed that they were comfortable with this transaction being approved," Mr McClellan said.

Mr McClellan said the president "became aware of it over the last several days".

Asked if Mr Bush did not know about the ports deal until it was a "done deal", he said, "That's correct".

The question of whether state-controlled Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates should be allowed to control the ports has sparked a political storm for Mr Bush at a time when he is struggling to boost sagging public approval ratings.

The White House continued a spirited defence of the deal, which has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill and vows to block the deal.

Mr McClellan said to not go forward with the deal would send a "terrible message" because it would hold a Middle Eastern company to a different standard than a British company and because the United Arab Emirates has been a strong partner in the war on terrorism.

Rejecting the deal, he said, could have consequences.

"You have to take into account the broader foreign policy implications," he said. "We should be working to broaden our partnership in the broader war on terrorism."

Concerns about the vulnerability of US ports have grown since the September 11 attacks.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Your tag line is very funny.

[Howlin]

I wish I could take credit for it; I stole it from some Freeper wittier than I am!

[ziggygrey]

Calling yourself a conservative does not necessarily make you one.

I'm guessing that c.b. is with you on that one!

[American Quilter]

Now, this is getting a tad confusing...

It is for me, too.

[winker]

The President needs his plough cleaned from stem to stern,just to get his attention focused on the serriousness of a situation he can only make worse by the minute. Not only should he distance himself from this problem but he should shut his mouth and not have an opinion whatsoever. Let the Congress critters do their jobs and quit making waves on this issue. One way you can tell how serious a situation is when you find yourself agreeing in principal with the likes of Schummer and Hillary Clintoon. Conservatives should speak with a unified voice in the majority not be linked with all this rabble and confusion. Its not hard to figure this out its the same old problem liberal versus conservative. Make our representatives do the expressed will of the people who elected them for a change, we can all appreciate that. The President will just have to whistle up courage in a dark corner somewhere; or just pout and suck his thumb!!

[swheats]

"When this decision came to light, I think Bush was blindsided.
"

I hope it doesn't rise to the level of Katrina's handling by Brown?

[Flux Capacitor]

I don't trust a former Reno aide to "spot" anything....

But at the end of the day, left out of the loop or not, poorly informed or not, Bush is still willing to go to the mat to defend this deal, to the point of calling people in his own party racists (in addition to being anti-Miers "sexists", eh George?) and threatening to use something called the "Veto Pen", which, for the last five years, has been stored away in the same government warehouse that contains the Ark of the Covenant.

That's what's really astounding.

-Dan

[ch.man]

Arab friends

Oxymoron?

[Marine_Uncle]

"Our ports have been operated by foreign governments all along.."
The ports are not managed by any foreign company. The ports are both owned and managed by the state/cities they reside in. And the security is not provided by the companies that run terminal operations. And the US Coast Guard and American firms run the cargo checking functions.
What in this case Dubai Port World would take over, is the terminal facilities at these ports that the British P&O company had owned and operated.
NOTICE: NO US PORT IS BEING BOUGHT BY A FOREIGN ENTITY. Why is this so hard to understand?
PLEASE. IF I AM WRONG WILL SOMEONE KINDLY CORRECT ME.

[CyberAnt]

Read this and realize that our congress is the culprit - not Bush:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1583784/posts

[LZ_Bayonet]

[From a previous post]"...staffers should've told the White House two weeks ago that this was potentially newsworthy..."

"You are listening to the MSM and believing their stories. This has been around for a few months and no one gave it a second take. Now all of a sudden when the DemocRATS think they can pile on Bush, Republicans get wobbly."

How can staffers always know something is potentially newsworthy when the MSM are known for creating news out of the non-newsworthy if and WHEN it serves their purposes? You'd be spending an incredible amount of precious time preparing for an onslaught that might not happen. And, by preparing for it, you might actually make it newsworthy.

[Flux Capacitor]

----Sorry, but they're not going to change because we pray for it to happen. We must act. The way we act is not to wait for some Christian Republican to rise to power there; we deal with what's there, and make them see that life will be better for them if they play nice.----

Sorry, we can't do that. We're all just a bunch of racists.

-Dan

[rwfromkansas]

Moron.

[Darkwolf377]

---Sorry, but they're not going to change because we pray for it to happen. We must act. The way we act is not to wait for some Christian Republican to rise to power there; we deal with what's there, and make them see that life will be better for them if they play nice.---- Sorry, we can't do that. We're all just a bunch of racists. -Dan

M'kay...so you're saying a Christian Republican leader--like ours--IS going to rise to power in the Middle East?

That's the best news I've heard all day.

(Your point is...?)

[demlosers]

What's 'tad confusing' is the headline does not support the article.
A standard trick done by the press where they lie in a headline with the intent to misdirect and confuse.

[American Quilter]

This is looking more and more like a international sweetheart deal for the UAE. Bush is kept out of the official loop, while his immediate subordinates pull the deal together. Then in a PR frenzy, Bush speaks out in a tough defiant tone, giving his blessing to the $7-billion deal.

Wow, that's an interesting take. I haven't heard that one before. I'm out of my depth on this subject, so I can't comment.

[LibLieSlayer]

Brit covered this tonight. The President knew about the merger deal, but he learned that it had been approved officially a few days ago (through press reports). He was kept informed of all the investigations findings etc, but he learned that its approval had been officially announced through press releases. That is a far cry from "not knowing about it".

This is an attempt by the media to accomplish putting doubt in some Conservative minds. It's working well this time.

LLS

[American Quilter]

I wish I could take credit for it; I stole it from some Freeper wittier than I am!

Well, you have good taste. I thought it was funny, too.

[Flux Capacitor]

Then WHY is Bush hell-bent on vetoing any congressional attempt to put the brakes on this?

-Dan

[Merlinator]

And maybe you and others should get informed. This is about port operation not port security. Anyone who thinks that GW for an instant would advocate something that puts the security of this country in jeopardy is either misinformed, an idiot, or a DUmmie. I've put on my flame retardant suit so flame away, call me a bushbot or whatever