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Dubai threat to hit back (UAE Threatens Against Boeing and US Bases Support)
The Hill.com ^ | March 9, 2006 | Roxana Tiron

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.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: americafirst; dubai; howdareyouopposew; nationalsecurity; portgate; thenwebetterbendover; uae
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To: jellybean
Was that loud enough for you to hear?

I refer you to #166.
661 posted on 03/09/2006 10:42:23 AM PST by JamesP81
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To: Siena Dreaming
DUBAI PORT WORLD HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THEY ARE DIVESTING OF ALL AMERICAN INTERESTS.

Hope everyone enjoys watching their investments falter.

662 posted on 03/09/2006 10:42:33 AM PST by Peach
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To: Pukin Dog

So give UAE a bl*wjob so we can drill in ANWR? Wow. I'm glad we're not into pimping out our national security for some line item attachments.


663 posted on 03/09/2006 10:42:33 AM PST by Rutles4Ever
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To: Pukin Dog

read and responded


664 posted on 03/09/2006 10:42:39 AM PST by prairiebreeze (The Old Media: today's carnival barkers.)
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To: All

Congratulations folks!

We have a new enemy in the Middle East.

Well done.


665 posted on 03/09/2006 10:42:56 AM PST by Soul Seeker (House Republicans Send a message: All Arabs are Genetically pre-disposed to terrorism)
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To: jimbo123

Blackmail my a$$, it's call reciprosity and we deserve it.


666 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:05 AM PST by traderrob6
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To: cookcounty
Bottom up is a threat too.

The port deal is dead because Bush REFUSES to do anything about our borders. That is the long and short of it, this is (grass roots) payback for Bush open borders policy, he is not longer trusted and any deal he supports is suspect. And that my freeper friend is the story behind the story.

667 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:19 AM PST by jpsb
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To: Earthdweller

We won't lose the WOT.


668 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:25 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: Sweetjustusnow

What an ignorant post. I think you have the Emirates confused with the Saudis. Saudi Arabia is the "home" of Wahabiism. The Emirates are relatively secular compared to other Arab countries. Are you comparing a country that allows us to dock our Navy ships in its ports nad helps us in the war on terror to Nazis?


669 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:32 AM PST by Merlinator (Come to Wisconsin, where even the dead have a vote...or 2 or 3)
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To: Peach

Rush just now: "Dubai Port World just gave us the middle finger"


670 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:44 AM PST by bwteim (Begin With The End In Mind)
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To: teawithmisswilliams
approving a deal to sell ownership of our port security to the UAE

Twist the truth much?

671 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:44 AM PST by Siena Dreaming
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To: Rutles4Ever
"I'm curious. Would you trust UAE with running airport security checkpoints? Why or why not? Answer carefully, or you might be called a "xenophobe"."

I don't trust any foreign country to run our security at airports, but since nobody has proposed that any do, I don't see where that fits in this debate over ports?
672 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:47 AM PST by Beagle8U (An "Earth First" kinda guy ( when we finish logging here, we'll start on the other planets.)
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To: newzjunkey
So what did Rush say? So far all I've seen on this thread is remarks that he "gave away the plan" with no summary of what he said.

That's because some people like to feel important. Do you have your secret decoder ring handy? Don't forget the secret handshake.

673 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:49 AM PST by Sir Gawain
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To: JamesP81
You never mix personal and business matters.

No, YOU don't. At this level, EVERYONE does. Allies do their best business with other allies.

674 posted on 03/09/2006 10:43:49 AM PST by Petronski (I love Cyborg!)
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To: Peach

DUBAI PORT WORLD HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THEY ARE DIVESTING OF ALL AMERICAN INTERESTS.


....just great, just great.....


675 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:01 AM PST by mystery-ak (Army Wife and Army Mother.....toughest job in the military)
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To: yellowdoghunter
..never fall in love with whores, I mean politictitutes.

Esp. ones descendant from King George III (the bushes).

This dup deal is part their dream to restore monarch type Paradise worldwide.

They'll probably pull it off.

676 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:20 AM PST by norraad ("What light!">Blues Brothers)
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To: jimbo123
So you support the Emir's blackmail campaign?

No, I don't; but I didn't support the idiocy that provoked it.

Do we deserve his threats because of Congress' actions yesterday and today?

Yes. You do not go around calling someone the sorts of things the UAE gets called, and expect them to simply say "thank you, sir, may I have another?"

677 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:23 AM PST by BeHoldAPaleHorse (Tagline deleted at request of moderator.)
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To: jimbo123

I don't care what side anyone sits on - any country that threatens our well-being because of the outcome of our democratic process is not and WAS not our ally in fact.


678 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:27 AM PST by Rutles4Ever
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To: Mr. Mojo
Islamicists? You might be interested in knowing that there are 24 Christian churches operating on land donated to them by the ruling families. Additionally, there are also Christian schools and cemeteries. Sound like your typical "furious Islmamists"?
679 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:27 AM PST by jess35
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To: Peach

Well, they are even more stupid than I thought. Maybe the Chinese will pick up the slack.


680 posted on 03/09/2006 10:44:35 AM PST by mlc9852
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