Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement

AP ^ | 2/22/06

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Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement

Feb 22 9:03 PM US/Eastern

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By TED BRIDIS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

1d08c5bfc6d0@news.ap.org The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.

As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about "foreign operational direction" of its business at U.S. ports, the documents said. Those records broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of ports and equipment.

The administration did not require Dubai Ports to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate U.S. government requests. Outside legal experts said such obligations are routinely attached to U.S. approvals of foreign sales in other industries.

"They're not lax but they're not draconian," said James Lewis, a former U.S. official who worked on such agreements. If officials had predicted the firestorm of criticism over the deal, Lewis said, "they might have made them sound harder."

The conditions involving the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. were detailed in U.S. documents marked "confidential." Such records are regularly guarded as trade secrets, and it is highly unusual for them to be made public.

The concessions _ described previously by the Homeland Security Department as unprecedented among maritime companies _ reflect the close relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The revelations about the negotiated conditions came as the White House acknowledged President Bush was unaware of the pending sale until the deal had already been approved by his administration.

Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House. He pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement, but some lawmakers said they still were determined to capsize it.

Dubai Port's top American executive, chief operating officer Edward H. Bilkey, said the company will do whatever the Bush administration asks to enhance shipping security and ensure the sale goes through. Bilkey said Wednesday he will work in Washington to persuade skeptical lawmakers they should endorse the deal; Senate oversight hearings already are scheduled.

"We're disappointed," Bikley told the AP in an interview. "We're going to do our best to persuade them that they jumped the gun. The UAE is a very solid friend, as President Bush has said."

Under the deal, the government asked Dubai Ports to operate American seaports with existing U.S. managers "to the extent possible." It promised to take "all reasonable steps" to assist the Homeland Security Department, and it pledged to continue participating in security programs to stop smuggling and detect illegal shipments of nuclear materials.

The administration required Dubai Ports to designate an executive to handle requests from the U.S. government, but it did not specify this person's citizenship.

It said Dubai Ports must retain paperwork "in the normal course of business" but did not specify a time period or require corporate records to be housed in the United States. Outside experts familiar with such agreements said such provisions are routine in other cases.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Time for Dick Cheney to go hunting again. :)

[smoothsailing]

The Associated Press.Leftist Twaddle.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Not dastardly. Just follow the money and you will find out who is behind this deal.

[stopem]

" $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World

[rolling_stone]

this deal is a joke, nothing substantial gained but much given away.

[Txsleuth]

The headline makes it sound like President Bush is sneaking aroung making secret agreements...

Aside from once again having "loose lips"....this article is much ado about nothing, IMHO...

I would expect the group to ask for, and get a special agreement.

[MillerCreek]

I KNEW IT!

President Bush was just far too emotionally involved from the starting point (from Air Force One, after reading the news, at that!) for comfort, and I do believe it indicated/indicates some sort of arrangement he's already made that would then be compromised by changes to the Port Deal. I got the impression that deals had been exchanged a while prior to and that the Port Deal was the conclusion...not the beginning. I'm still opposed to it, although it is difficult for me to write that. If it's the one and only, then let it work through Congress. I am not at all comfortable having a UAE government owned company with this purchase.

[defconw]

I don't trust the source.

[Howlin]

Hope you all are proud..

Who are you addressing that to, yourself?

[mdittmar]

reflect the close relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

This is why the feces has hit the air circuilater.

The POTUS has made a boo boo here.

[AmishDude]

Plus, it isn't the "White House". The "White House" implies that it's a decision made by the administration. This was made by the bureaucracy, many levels deep and the President was kept out of the loop by law until the deal was done.

And, of course, the sale of the British company to the UAE company was known long ago, the only question that they had to deal with was whether the port contract would be inherited by the UAE company. It sounds like the bureaucrats involved realized that and imposed some additional restrictions.

[Howlin]

Let's see:

Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement

or

Documents obtained by the AP show the Bush administration's conditions for approving a ports sale


Which makes a snappier headline?

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Who Runs The Ports -- The Dubai Ports World Kerfuffle

Besides considering the number of acres the P&O operates in New Orleans here is perhaps a better comparison. Between the Head of Passes and Baton Rouge's upper bridge (the head of most ocean going navigation) the two banks of the river measure over 440 miles in length and are dense with vessel handling facilities.

The P&O manages approximately 2,000 linear feet on the East bank. Of the approximately 300 Coast Guard uniformed personnel , 40 member harbor police, 90 member parish sheriff's department, and several hundred security guards that serve the area the P&O will probably be responsible for staffing 3 physical positions with armed guards.

Of course the P&O already provides these armed American citizens, they have been running the container facility for years. What has changed is the P&Os controlling interest stockholder? If this deal goes through the same guys who are on guard tonight will be there the night after the deal is signed. But some weeks later they may have more lights, communications gear, and cameras since the "new' P&O" has been purchased by a company willing to put money into the Coast Guard approved security plan.

The old P&O stockholders balked at the security costs of doing business in post 9/11 America. Meanwhile I am still on duty along with the rest of the Coast Guard, if someone else is "in charge of port security" we haven't been told and know of no relief coming.

[Shermy]

"Hope you all are proud.. another secret op busted before it even got off the ground."

I am. It's not.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

It would be interesting to know who or what is getting the proceeds from the ports sales at each location. Do the various states where the ports are located get the monies ? Do the city governments get paid back for their investment in acquiring the land ? Is this an asset sale or on-going business sale ? If federal fund were used to benefit the ports, do taxpayers benefit when the sale takes place ?
I am bothered when a see publicly traded utilities (and sometimes hospitals) privatized via sale or transfer of stock when the federal government (taxpayers) provided some benefit (underwriting loans, tax advantages, etc) and then a group of insiders take checks to the bank.
The ports are most likely monopolies. How did they get that way, is there nearby competition and why are they for sale ?

[MillerCreek]

What's emerged here is that a lot of Americans have issues with Bush's handling or perceived handling of national security, based upon the border issues and illegal immigration. Good reasons to be concerned, I think. This Port Deal just set off the meter but for mostly the same concerns...Bush has a P.R. problem among his voter base and it's a big problem domestically affecting other pursuits by the Administration.

[pierrem15]

"Better to rule forever in Hell, than serve one day in Heaven" seems to express the Dem ambition.

[isthisnickcool]

Hi, I'm Bob Dole and I'm one of the many lobbyists that work for the UAE.

[DJ MacWoW]

This is nothing. Read it again. Everything agreed to is normal in these deals. What a crock. It hypes it like it's this big shadowy thing and the article says this is a standard agreement. *sigh*

[austinaero]

Actually, I have a fantasy about inviting all would-be, wannabe martyrs to Tehran to play out their life's wish of dying for their Islamic beliefs. Let's say, tomorrow at 10 am? We'll drop a few nukes and they can all go to Allah. Everybody wins! Nothing wrong with a little planning. We can repeat the exercise next week if it's popular. Hey, we can make TV reality show out of it!

Sarc off.