Amid dispute, Bush still backs Dubai ports deal

Reuters ^ | 2/28/06 | Caren Bohan and Susan Cornwell

[Paul Ross]

UPDATE 1-Amid dispute, Bush still backs Dubai ports deal (Adds comments from Frist, new legislation from Bayh) By Caren Bohan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Tuesday stood by his support for allowing a Dubai-based company to run terminals at six major U.S. ports, as lawmakers raised concerns about a Coast Guard report on security issues. "If there was any doubt in my mind or people in my administration's minds that our ports would be less secure or the American people in danger, this deal wouldn't go forward," Bush said, as the U.S. Congress held another day of hearings on the contested takeover bid. Facing a bipartisan uproar over the agreement to have state-owned Dubai Ports World manage terminals at ports including New York and New Jersey, the White House agreed on Sunday to a new, 45-day security review of the deal. At the end of it, Bush will have to authorize or reject the agreement. As of Tuesday afternoon, the new review had not begun, a Treasury Department spokeswoman said. Bush did not repeat his threat to veto any legislation to block the takeover deal, but aides said his position had not changed. The takeover by the United Arab Emirates-based company pushed Bush's approval rating to an all-time low of 34 percent, according to a new CBS News poll. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican who asked that the deal be put on hold last week, said he felt "a greater comfort level" with the takeover now that he had received more information. He also said he would not let any related legislation on the Senate floor while the new inquiry is under way. But other lawmakers continued to voice concerns about the deal, which critics say could make it easier for militants to attack the United States. Sen. Evan Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana, introduced new legislation requiring greater scrutiny of business deals involving foreign countries. A bipartisan group of senators had introduced legislation on Monday to give Congress the power to block the deal. INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Senators at an Armed Services Committee hearing pressed top intelligence officials about a U.S. Coast Guard report late last year that said "intelligence gaps" made it hard to assess if the takeover presented security concerns. Vice Admiral Terry Cross, vice commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement on Tuesday that his agency's initial review had identified the gaps but additional information and assurances it had received confirmed the takeover did not pose a significant threat. "In fact, the Coast Guard will have more information about the affected terminals under DPW ownership than it currently does under P&O's ownership," he said. Intelligence chief John Negroponte told the hearing that his own team's intelligence review was submitted Dec. 5, 2005, about a week before the Coast Guard report. "On the basis of our inquiry we assessed that the threat to U.S. national security posed by DP World to be low. And we did not see any red flags come up during the course of our inquiry," Negroponte said. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said senators had heard from several sources that U.S. Customs also had expressed security concerns. He declined to identify the sources. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and chairwoman of the Homeland Security committee that made the Coast Guard document public on Monday, said she thought the administration had rushed to judgment in deciding in the company's favor. (Additional reporting by Caroline Drees)

[UCANSEE2]

Dubai supports the Israeli boycott, for Dubai.

The DPW supports it for Dubai.

They do not have to support a boycott where it does not exist, such as the US.

DPW doesn't tell Zim Co. they can't ship Israeli products. That we know of.

I'm not concerned as much with whether you are I are right, as I am with finding out what is right.

Thanks for the info.

[UCANSEE2]

"their ports were shipping points for nuclear weapons materials being sent to N. Korea and Pakistan, etc."

So were ours.

[Blzbba]

"So were ours."


Source?

[Kjobs]

UAE voting record with the US: 12.5% in 2004, 0% in 2003, 17.6% in 2002, 0% in 2001, 30.0% in 2000.

At the same time, Israel has voted with the US: 100% in 2004, 92.9% in 2003, 92.6% in 2002, 100% in 2001, 96.2% in 2000.

This bears reiteration. I haven't seen any of the port sycophants address this troubling voting pattern. Maybe they're too busy adjusting their kneepads...