Arab Company Will Not Take Control of U.S. Ports

Republicans help defeat president’s secret deal 

President George Bush wanted a company owned by a foreign government to run six of the nation’s largest ports. However, Bush was forced to accept a rare defeat. His own party opposed his plan.

Republicans in Congress refused to go along with Bush. The company decided to withdraw the plan March 9. The deal fell apart before Congress could vote on the issue.

Many Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate were worried that the security of the country could suffer if a foreign operator ran the ports.

Democrats also had much the same view. However, Republicans control Congress because they have the majority of seats.

The argument over the ports started in mid-February. In January, several agencies of the United States federal government approved the sale. Bush said many times that he was sure the ports would be safe.

Bush and his staff didn’t tell Congress

Republicans found out about the Bush administration’s approval of the deal from news reports. Some Republicans were upset that Bush or his staff did not tell them about it.  

Later on, some lawmakers said the dispute was about the wrong issue. They said the real issue should have been making sure more cargo coming into the country is inspected.

Senator John Kerry said the dispute was just the tip of the iceberg of Bush’s failure on port security. Kerry is a Democrat. He ran against Bush for president in 2004.

Owned by United Arab Emirates

The government of the United Arab Emirates owns the company at the center of the dispute. The company would have operated ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans. Many believe that the ports need protection from terrorism.

The name of the company at the center of the dispute is Dubai Ports World. DP World said it was pulling out of the deal because “of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve this relationship.”

The company announced its withdrawal the day after a Congressional committee voted to stop the deal. The Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives voted 62-to-2 to kill the deal.

Other members of Congress also wanted to vote on the same measure. The House of Representatives has 435 members. Some of them were planning to bring the measure to the full House for a vote.  

The UAE is a small Arab nation

The UAE is a small Arab nation. The UAE is made up of seven smaller states. It has about 2.5 million people.

Bush said the UAE has been an important friend of the United States. Bush also said opposition to the ports deal could come back to hurt the United States.

“In order to win the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our friendships and relationships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East,” Bush said the day after DP World pulled out. He also said the UAE is a key partner for the American military in a critical region of the world.

DP World said it would “transfer” management of the six ports to an American owner. The company did not reply to many requests to explain what it meant by “transfer.” Some opponents of the plan were worried that DP World was planning to transfer control of the ports to a company that it still controls.

The six ports had been under the management of a private company based in London. That company is British. However, the British government does not own or control it.