The article conveniently forgets to mention the slave trading of young Boys for camel jockeys and girls for prostitution and reprehensible track record on civil rights not to mention terrorist activity
Posted on 03/09/2006 9:02:17 AM PST by prairiebreeze
Dubai is threatening retaliation against American strategic and commercial interests if Washington blocks its $6.8 billion takeover of operations at several U.S. ports.
As the House Appropriations Committee yesterday marked up legislation to kill Dubai Ports World’s acquisition of Britain’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), the emirate let it be known that it is preparing to hit back hard if necessary.
A source close to the deal said members of Dubai’s royal family are furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal.
“They’re saying, ‘All we’ve done for you guys, all our purchases, we’ll stop it, we’ll just yank it,’” the source said.
Retaliation from the emirate could come against lucrative deals with aircraft maker Boeing and by curtailing the docking of hundreds of American ships, including U.S. Navy ships, each year at its port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source added.
It is not clear how much of Dubai’s behind-the-scenes anger would be followed up by action, but Boeing has been made aware of the threat and is already reportedly lobbying to save the ports deal.
The Emirates Group airline will decide later this year whether it will buy Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner or its competitor, Airbus A350. The airline last fall placed an order worth $9.7 billion for 42 Boeing 777 aircraft, making Dubai Boeing’s largest 777 customer.
Dubai in mid-February also established the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, a $15 billion investment to create a company that will lease planes, develop airports and make aircraft parts to tap into growing demand for air travel in the Middle East and Asia.
The family-ruled sheikhdom may buy as many as 50 wide-body aircraft from Boeing and Airbus during the next four years, according to Aerospace Enterprise officials.
The UAE military also bought Boeing’s Apache helicopters. Meanwhile, Boeing has been in talks with the emirates to try to sell its AWACS planes.
An industry official with knowledge of Boeing’s contracts with Dubai said that the company has been involved in the emirate and that it would take a lot “to knock” those relationships.
“Nothing about the [ports] controversy diminishes our commitment to the region,” said John Dern, Boeing’s corporate spokesman. He added that at this point the company has no indication that there is or will be an impact on the company.
Any repercussion to Boeing could put House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in a delicate position. Boeing’s decision to move its headquarters to Chicago has been seen as calculated to facilitate a close relationship with Hastert. He is against the ports deal, and his office did not return calls by press time.
Several businesses have expressed concern that the controversy over the $6.8 billion ports deal could damage trade with the UAE. Dubai is one of the seven emirates. The United States and the UAE are meeting next week for a fourth round of talks to sign a free-trade agreement. The American Business Group of Abu Dhabi, which has no affiliation with the U.S. government, said that Arabs may hesitate to invest into the United States, according to a report by Reuters.
A Republican trade lobbyist said that because the ports deal is a national-security issue blocking it would not be in violation of World Trade Agreement rules.
“In terms of them retaliating legally against the U.S. … I don’t think there are many options there,” the lobbyist said.
But when it comes to the emirates’ cooperation in the war on terrorism and in intelligence gathering, there is concern that some help may be pulled.
“If we reject the company in terms of doing the [ports] work, they are going to lose a lot of face. In the Arab culture, losing face is a big deal,” a former government official said. “We risk losing that help. It is not an empty threat.”
Dubai is a critical logistics hub for the U.S. Navy and a popular relaxation destination for troops fighting in the Middle East. On many occasions since the ports story erupted, the Pentagon has stressed the importance of the U.S-UAE relationship.
Last year, the U.S. Navy docked 590 supply vessels in Dubai, plus 56 warships, Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense, said in a Senate hearing last month. About 77,000 military personnel went on leave in the UAE last year, he added.
During the hearing, he warned about the implications of a negative decision on the ports deal: “So obviously it would have some effect on us, and I’d not care to quantify that, because I don’t have the facts to quantify it. It would certainly have an effect on us.”
Although owned by the Dubai government, the company at the heart of this controversy, Dubai Ports World, is trying to distance itself from any kinds of threats, said a lobbyist closely tracking the deal.
Another lobbyist monitoring the controversy said K Street still believes there will be a compromise that allows the Dubai deal to go through while meeting congressional security concerns, even though a bill aimed at that result, put forward by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), was widely repudiated amongst lawmakers Tuesday.
Senate leaders have indicated that they would wait to take action until the new 45-day Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review is completed.
Meanwhile, in London, DP World cleared the last hurdle for its take over of P&O. The Court of Appeal in London refused Miami-based Eller & Co., which opposed the deal, permission to appeal against clearances for the legal and financial measures necessary to implement the takeover.
P&O said it expects to file the requisite court orders, making the takeover terms binding on DP World, according to the Financial Times.
Elana Schor contributed to this report.
What did you expect to find at the Boston Herald? Jenjiss Conn? ; )
When Arab-Americans stop murdering infidels and blowing crap up we'll stop discriminating against them.
Though DPW has said it is relinquishing control of the US ports to a "United States entity," there will be lingering repercussions. In international relations, the backlash makes Americans look xenophobic and nativist toward the globalizing economy, analysts say, though they note that in the hard-headed world of international trade, foreign firms looking to invest in the US will hardly be swayed by emotion.
It's Do not dub me shapka broham against the world. No one can stop him. ; )
The article conveniently forgets to mention the slave trading of young Boys for camel jockeys and girls for prostitution and reprehensible track record on civil rights not to mention terrorist activity
And Democrats are pretending to hold the high ground with this?
"Democrats insisted their cause was not anti-Arab but applied to any foreign operations at U.S. ports, and they pushed measures to require that U.S. companies be the only ones allowed to manage terminals."
And Republicans are just the opposite, I presume? LOL!
Simply because you preface a phrase with the word "Christian" does not make it so; see Christian Identity.
Also, the editorial oversight of that newspaper is not dependent upon Mary Baker Eddy's deranged disciples, just as the Moonies don't decide what editorials the Washington Times is going to run everyday.
So yes, the people who wrote that editorial probably belong to the aforementioned categories.
I didn't say they were "real" Christians. Now go tell the rest of the world.
Ewww, I said some more Latin. Look at me, look at me! ;^P
Seriously?
I knew there were a lot of mental people floating around in the ether of the IntraWebz, still...
I'm just fresh out of mice so I thought I'd play with you. ; )
Arab-Americans are murdering infidels and blowing up crap?
Saved By Revolt ("In Handing the President His Hat, His Party Did Him a Service") ^
Yep. He just blew his cover.
Check out #2182. Too much. Push 'em hard enough and the veil comes off.
But our precious Islamo-fascist appeasers are just chock-a-full of all sorts of "wisdom" about things they know nothing about, as you've seen. And they continue to pretend to be "conservatives" committed to the struggle against the rancid ideology that brought us the horrors of 9/11 (and much else besides, both before and after)--except when they aren't.
Which is curiously often, as you've witnessed in this very thread...
But I don't take threats very well. Screw the UAE.
If you think they are selling ports, you aren't informed enough to form an opinion.
These "threats" are how rational businesses and gevernments exert influence. France, Canada, and Japan use similar "threats" against us, just as we do against them. People need to get informed about this and stop the hyperbole.
My work is done here. I'll leave you to commiserate with your "real American" buddy.
Yeah, go sleep it off and sober up.
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