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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

President Bush said Friday he was troubled by the political storm that forced the reversal of a deal allowing a company in Dubai to take over take over operations of six American ports, saying it sent a bad message to U.S. allies in the Middle East. Bush said the United States needs moderate allies in the Arab world, like the United Arab Emirates, to win the global war on terrorism. The president said he had been satisfied that security would be sound at the ports if the Dubai deal had taken effect. "Nevertheless, Congress was still very much opposed to...

WASHINGTON - Lapses by private port operators, shipping lines or truck drivers could allow terrorists to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the United States, according to a government review of security at American seaports. The $75 million, three-year study by the Homeland Security Department included inspections at a New Jersey cargo terminal involved in the dispute over a Dubai company's now-abandoned bid to take over significant operations at six major U.S. ports...

PROTECTIONISTS, REJOICE! The dastardly United Arab Emirates company that would have presumed to unload containers of underwear and toothpaste on U.S. soil has backed down, and it will now divest its U.S. port interests to an American entity. Rest assured, the nation is now safe from dangerous Middle Eastern accountants and port logistics specialists. Dubai Ports World did what was necessary, if not necessarily fair, on Thursday by agreeing to give up the U.S. operations of its newly acquired British ports company. The House Appropriations Committee had voted 62 to 2 on Wednesday to block the deal; a similar bill...

The demonising of Arabs that accompanied the near hysterical American reactions, whether coming from the mighty or the lowly, to a contractual agreement between Dubai Ports World and a British firm whereby the former would manage the latter's cargo terminals at six key American seaports, including New York City, underlined once again the shameless, if not embarrassing, racism that runs deep in American society. The anti-Arab bashing was touched off by a belated news agency report that went overboard in describing the straightforward business transaction, concluded late last year, giving the mistaken impression that these ports were turned over to...

U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay said Wednesday that President Bush is making a big mistake backing a sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. The former Republican majority leader said the administration's approval of the deal is "pretty outrageous." DeLay made the remarks during a campaign event with Houston real estate executives. Separately, U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, said he is concerned about Texas ports where military cargo is handled by London-based Peninsular and Oriental, the company to be purchased by the UAE's Dubai Ports World. Poe said ports in...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers determined to capsize the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates said President Bush's surprise veto threat won't deter them. Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House that the $6.8 billion sale could raise risks of terrorism at American ports. In a forceful defense of his administration's earlier approval of the deal, he pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement. The sale's harshest critics were not appeased. "I will fight harder than ever for...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: What we have here is a tsunami. We've got tsunami of coverage on this port deal that is disabling any reasonable debate about this, and I know it doesn't help this idiot Jimmy Carter has just come out for this port deal. I mean, if Bush really wanted this, Jimmy Carter has just screwed it. Jimmy Carter's just blown this deal sky high by coming out and endorsing it. (Laughing.) This guy is the biggest... We have some Carter sound bites from CNN yesterday. I'm going to tell you what happened to Jimmy Carter. Everybody wants to...

There is Obviously way more to the UAE story than just the managment of port operations...I implore all freepers to dig a little deeper...Credit to Diddle E Squat for getting me to think and dig a little deeper...Take a look at the map and the links and snippets...then lets get back to a constructive discussion regarding the UAE as an ally or foe in the war on terrorism....and more importantly...a strategic ally in the coming war against Iran... Foreign Affairs The UAE and Iran continue to dispute the ownership of three islands, Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb...

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Bush says the deal allowing an Arab company to take over six major U.S. seaports should go forward and he will veto any bill that would stop it.