White House, Congress, Dubai move toward deal on ports: US senator
AFP
Date: 02-26-06
NEW YORK (AFP) - Dubai Ports World (DPW) will seek a new 45-day US review of its acquisition of a British company that manages key US ports, averting a showdown with the Congress, a prominent senator said.
US Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program that he held a meeting late Saturday with the chief operating officer of the company and hammered out the deal in a two-hour-long session.
"This is a copy of the agreement which is now being delivered to the administration and to members of Congress," Warner said, holding the document aloft.
"It really spells out unequivocally the willingness of this country -- to this company to give every means of support to help work this thing out," he said.
He said the request for a review was being made jointly by DPW and the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company -- the British company which currently manages the US ports.
Dubai Ports World, of the United Arab Emirates, already had said late Thursday it would hold off on US aspects of the 6.8-billion-dollar global deal while the administration of US President George W. Bush consulted outraged Republican and Democratic congressional critics.
The proposed deal has angered critics who say it threatens US port security. They also charged the White House failed to properly consult Congress.
Opponents have pointed out that some of the financing for the September 11, 2001 attacks was funnelled through the UAE.
President Bush had threatened to veto any efforts in Congress to delay the deal, while lawmakers countered they had sufficient numbers to override a presidential veto.
The affected ports are in in New York; Miami; Newark, New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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