Arab firm to postpone US ports takeover indefinitely
A United Arab Emirates company has volunteered to postpone its takeover of significant operations at six major US seaports.
The White House said today the delay would be helpful in giving the administration time to convince sceptical politicians the deal poses no increased risks from terrorism.
The surprise concession late yesterday cools the stand-off building between the Congress and President George Bush over his administration’s previous approval of the deal.
In early reaction, politicians praised the temporary hold. But some critics pressed anew for an intensive examination of the deal’s risks.
As part of its new offer, co-ordinated with the White House, Dubai Ports World said it would agree not to exercise control or influence management over US ports pending further discussions with the administration and Congress.
It did not say how long it would wait for these discussions to be finished.
The announcement effectively leaves existing American and British executives in charge of the company’s seaport operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
Representative Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, described the offer as “definitely a positive step.”
A leading Republican critic of the deal, King said the president still must disclose new details about the administration’s review and approval of the agreement last month.
“We believe it would be helpful to have some additional time to brief Congress about the facts and about the safeguards that are in place,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
“We believe once Congress has a better understanding of the facts and the safeguards that are in place that they will be more comfortable with the transaction moving forward. So a slight delay would helpful in that regard.”
He said Bush would continue to oppose any move to block the transaction. Asked how long the delay would last, McClellan said: “It’s not up to us. It’s up to the company to make that decision.”
Bush said he was struck by the fact that people were not concerned about port security when a British company was running the port operation, but they felt differently about an Arab company at the helm. He said the United Arab Emirates was a valuable partner in the fight against terror.
“It’s really important we not send mixed messages to friends and allies around the world as we put together a coalition to fight this war on terror,” Bush told reporters yesterday.
The controversy is the latest blow to an administration reeling from setbacks in Iraq, criticism of its response to Hurricane Katrina and a series of criminal investigations affecting Republicans in Congress and the White House.
Democrats have seized on the issue, which allows them to attack Bush on what is usually his biggest political strength: national security. The criticism by Republican politicians reflects a growing willingness to distance themselves from Bush ahead of congressional elections in November.
