(2006-02-22) Dubai Ports Operation

A Dubai company, Dubai Ports World, is acquiring the British company which runs a number of the largest ports in the US. Many are concerned about the implications for Dealing With Terrorism.

• Feb17: In mid-January, President Bush nominated a senior executive of Dubai Ports World, David Sanborn, to run the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration. Mr. Sanborn had been running the company's operations in Europe and Latin America... Mr. Chuck Schumer and six other members of Congress sent a letter yesterday to John Snow, the Treasury Secretary, calling for a more thorough review of the deal, in which Dubai Ports World agreed to pay $6.8 billion to acquire a British shipping company, Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. A subsidiary of the company, P & O Ports North America, operates the local facilities.

  • the letter includes some points about how much of an "ally" the United Arab Emirates have been.

  • and the ports handle lots of military shipments.

• Feb19: Several Republicans also expressed doubts about a transaction that appears to pit security concerns against the Bush administration's strong support for free world trade.

• Feb20: Two Republican governors on Monday questioned a Bush administration decision allowing an Arab-owned company to operate six major U. S. ports, saying they may try to cancel lease arrangements at ports in their states. New York Gov. George Pataki and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich voiced doubts about the acquisition of a British company that has been running the U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates.

• Feb21: George W Bush, trying to put down a rapidly escalating rebellion among leaders of his own party, said Tuesday that he would veto any legislation blocking a deal for a state-owned company in Dubai to take over the management of port terminals in New York, Miami, Baltimore and other major American cities. Mr. Bush issued the threat after the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, and the House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert, publicly criticized the deal and said a thorough review was necessary to ensure that terrorists could not exploit the arrangement to slip weapons into American ports. Mr. Bush suggested that the objections to the deal might be based on bias against a company from the Middle East, one he said was an ally in fighting terrorism.

• Feb22: George W 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.