Reply #22: Bush concerned about ports message [pissing off his Dubai friends] [View All]

[Julius Civitatus]

Bush very "concerned" about his rich pals and business partners. Not so much for the safety of the American people, of course.

Bush concerned about ports message

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The collapse of efforts by a Gulf Arab company to manage U.S. ports may send a worrying message to Middle East allies, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday, a day after his stinging defeat on the deal.

"In order to win the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East," Bush told newspaper editors.

In a possible repercussion, the United Arab Emirates broke off talks on a free trade agreement with the United States the day after the ports deal fell apart.

Bush suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of his own Republican allies in the U.S. Congress when state-owned Dubai Ports World surrendered to unrelenting criticism and gave up trying to manage some terminals at six major U.S. ports.

The UAE company said it would transfer the ports to a U.S. entity at the behest of Dubai's ruler, to allay U.S. concerns that the deal posed a threat to American national security. Details of the transfer were not outlined.

A leading critic of the ports deal, New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), said questions remained about the company's transfer of port operations to a still-unidentified U.S. entity and promised to keep pressing the issue.

"If things are as they appear, this is a great victory for national security. But make no mistake, we are going to scrutinize this deal with a fine-tooth comb to make sure the separation between American port operators and Dubai Ports World is complete and security is tight as a drum," Schumer said.

Dubai Ports Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, asked whether the company would sell the management rights of the U.S. ports, told Reuters: "All this is being worked out by our parties in the States." He could not say immediately how separate the U.S. entity would be from Dubai Ports.
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