Bush defends DP World ports deal, threatens veto
Bush defends DP World ports deal, threatens veto
Should the state-controlled Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates be allowed to control the U.S ports?
Well, President George Bush doesn’t seem to agree with members of the Congress regarding this deal. On one hand, the congress is questioning whether the company could be trusted to guard the ports at a time of terrorism. On the other, Bush supports the takeover of management of the major U.S seaports by DP World and does not believe that this poses any security issues. According to Bush, the deal which will cover six shipping terminals should go forward because the Dubai firm will not be in charge of security. Dubai is also a U.A ally; therefore, the country will be no less safe as a result of the transaction.
US seaports handle 2 billion tonnes of freight a year. Only about 5 percent of containers are examined on arrival and the fact that these ports are purchased by companies owned by foreign governments is a security issue. The issue of ‘national security’ was raised and as a result, Congress, lawmakers, and leaders from both parties: Democrats and Republicans formed interest groups to try and pass legislation to stop the deal. The president intends to use the veto to deal with any attempt to introduce this legislation. This veto is the first to be used by the Bush administration and it will be used to save DP deal. Bush believes that blocking this deal will send a bad signal to the friend countries from the other part of the world.
In my opinion, the Congress should not rush into blocking the deal without investigating the facts surrounding this deal. Dubai Ports World is about to take over Britain’s P&O for 6.8 billion making it the world’s third-largest ports group. So the ports were already controlled by foreign countries and if they weren’t acquired by Dubai, they would have been acquired by another foreign company like Singapore. Moreover, the government of Dubai said that the security concerns were unreasonable given his country’s close ties with Washington and Dubai Ports’ record as global operator. For example, US warships often call at the UAE’s Jebel Ali port, run by Dubai Ports.
Should the state-controlled Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates be allowed to control the U.S ports?
Well, President George Bush doesn’t seem to agree with members of the Congress regarding this deal. On one hand, the congress is questioning whether the company could be trusted to guard the ports at a time of terrorism. On the other, Bush supports the takeover of management of the major U.S seaports by DP World and does not believe that this poses any security issues. According to Bush, the deal which will cover six shipping terminals should go forward because the Dubai firm will not be in charge of security. Dubai is also a U.A ally; therefore, the country will be no less safe as a result of the transaction.
US seaports handle 2 billion tonnes of freight a year. Only about 5 percent of containers are examined on arrival and the fact that these ports are purchased by companies owned by foreign governments is a security issue. The issue of ‘national security’ was raised and as a result, Congress, lawmakers, and leaders from both parties: Democrats and Republicans formed interest groups to try and pass legislation to stop the deal. The president intends to use the veto to deal with any attempt to introduce this legislation. This veto is the first to be used by the Bush administration and it will be used to save DP deal. Bush believes that blocking this deal will send a bad signal to the friend countries from the other part of the world.
In my opinion, the Congress should not rush into blocking the deal without investigating the facts surrounding this deal. Dubai Ports World is about to take over Britain’s P&O for 6.8 billion making it the world’s third-largest ports group. So the ports were already controlled by foreign countries and if they weren’t acquired by Dubai, they would have been acquired by another foreign company like Singapore. Moreover, the government of Dubai said that the security concerns were unreasonable given his country’s close ties with Washington and Dubai Ports’ record as global operator. For example, US warships often call at the UAE’s Jebel Ali port, run by Dubai Ports.
posted by Lina @ 3:12 AM
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