----I'm tired of threats by pissant countries. Screw them.----
Amen. Though we do have El Presidente to thank for suggesting to the entire world that Americans are a bunch of bigots. Good job, George!
No matter. Everything's working out.
-Dan
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.
It will be interesting to see how our so called UAE business partners react to the normal give and take of business or are they just too fragile, vindictive and prone to easy manipulation.
We need them more than they need us. We don't have any major military installations there. We use their port facilities to service our ships and airfields to tranship material and train our pilots.
That's it in a nutshell...
PB this isn't intended for you....
I really hope you protectionist bastards are throughly happy to be allied with the likes of Chuck Schumer. Way to piss off an ally of ours at a critical time in the Middle East Region. Way to go. No we don't need to listen to Gen. Pace. We don't NEED to listen to General Franks. No!! We want to listen to one of the top 5 most LIBERAL SENATORS IN THE SENATE!! Way to freakin Go idiots!!!
You sound like Hamas, labeling as a threat something denied to you that you aren't entitled to.
What goes around .. comes around
And this this political stunt by republicans just endangered our country and our military even more
I don't like it when Democrats pull a stunt like this .. I sure as heck don't like it when our side does it
Right now as far as I'm concerned .. the Republicans can go to hell
they were our friends, until we took a shit on them.
Now they aren't.
Hope you're happy.
Now Iran has another ally.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HA21Df03.html "China's interest in the Gwadar project stems from the port's proximity to the Strait of Hormuz. A base at Gwadar enables China to secure the flow of its oil - 60% of its energy supplies come from the Middle East - through the strait. More important, Gwadar is said to be a "listening post" for the Chinese, one that will enable Beijing to monitor movement of US and Indian ships in the region."
Any FReeper worth his salt should be aware of "sources" when listed in a report, of course.
However, Rush is talking about this as is Malkin on her blog.
Yes, I'm surprised that the ports deal defenders are using this as an "I told you so" moment. Seeing the UAE resort to economic blackmail to save the deal makes me trust them even less. Why is it so important for them to have a hand in American port operations?
| Republicans: Ports Deal Doomed in Congress |
||
| Posted by West Coast Conservative On 03/09/2006 11:15:20 AM CST · 2 replies · 40+ views AP ^ | March 9, 2006 | ANDREW TAYLOR Republican congressional leaders told President Bush Thursday his plan allowing a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emiratews to take control of some U.S. port operations faces certain defeat in Congreess, GOP officials said. Bush, however, insisted again that he would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk. The GOP leaders conveyed the news one day after a House comittee voted 62-2 to block the deal and Senate Democrats demanded a vote. The ports provision was added to a must-pass measure funding the war in Iraq and providing new hurricane relief. The White House... |
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Amen. Though we do have El Presidente to thank for suggesting to the entire world that Americans are a bunch of bigots. Good job, George!
No matter. Everything's working out.
-Dan
"when it comes to the emirates’ cooperation in the war on terrorism and in intelligence gathering,"
well well! If they threaten to change or quit this, it will provide a valid measure to their true committment to it in the first place.....as well as a very good reason for "lookback" at things they did and didn't do along the way.
not an ally......just pragmatic ragheads using enemy of my enemy type rationale and adages. Dubai is a family-owned and operates city-state as are the other six emirates......lets not kid ourselves or be kidded, here. "UAE" (as such) os a sham.
Are there no businessmen on this thread?
I can guarantee you that if the shoe were reversed, our country would do EXACTLY what the UAE is doing.
No, Tom. We've allowed our internal political BS to bleed over to harming an ally. Why should the UAE just take it in the shorts?
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