Posted on 03/10/2006 2:21:04 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite
The U.S. House of Representatives will forge ahead with a vote on blocking an Arab-owned company from managing U.S. ports, to ensure the firm sheds its U.S. holdings as promised, a leadership spokesman said on Friday.
The Republican-run House's refusal to back away from the showdown vote was another blow to President George W. Bush, who suffered a stinging defeat on Thursday when Dubai Ports World said it intended to back out of the deal his administration had approved.
Reverberations from the political earthquake continued on Friday. The United Arab Emirates broke off talks on a free trade pact with the United States, although a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office said delays are common.
Bush said he was concerned the opposition sent a worrying message to Middle East allies.
"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.
State-owned Dubai Ports World surrendered to unrelenting criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in giving up the management of 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 concerns the deal posed a threat to American national security. Details of the transfer were not outlined.
The White House had hoped the announcement would resolve the unprecedented crisis between Bush and a Congress run by his own party in open revolt.
But Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said the House vote on a provision to bar the deal would go ahead on Wednesday or Thursday anyway.
"It's a smart move to keep it (the legislation) in there, in case the Dubai thing doesn't work out," he told Reuters.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The outlook for a Senate vote was less clear. Senate Republican leaders have been trying to avoid one in the near future. Deal critic Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, wants more information from the White House.
"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," he said.
Dubai Ports Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, asked if the firm would sell the U.S. port management rights, told Reuters: "All this is being worked out by our parties in the States."
But David Hamod, president of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, said it would be hard to find a U.S. company to step in.
"The advantage that the overseas company has is economies of scale. They're doing this on a global level and so it will be very difficult to find a U.S. company in this business large enough to take over the operations," Hamod said.
He also said his group was hearing calls for retribution, including keeping Americans out of Arab markets. "But it's a tiny minority of people who are arguing that," he said.
Bush, who had vowed to veto efforts to block the deal, praised the UAE as a committed ally in the war on terrorism.
"I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East," Bush said.
Treasury Secretary John Snow said his department's lawyers were in contact with DP World about its intentions. He also said the political furor was an isolated case, as he tried to limit damage to the U.S. free-trade image.
Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, said congressional Republicans are running away from Bush this election year.
"In a way, the port deal was a godsend to them," Sabato said. "It allowed them to put a lot of daylight between themselves and a very unpopular president."
A new poll Friday registered another low of 37 percent in Bush's approval rating.
(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Doug Palmer and Tim Ahmann)
ping
That's what I gather.
Pull a John Kerry and just don't show up for the vote.
Congressmoron is the correct terminology. No need to say Congressperson, Congresswoman, or Congressman, just Congressmoron.
For example,
Dear Congressmoron:
Enclosed is a map of the Middle East....
Right. The legislation reflected ignorance about the issue and to now go forward with it when it is not needed reflects double stupidity and confirms that it was all about politics and not substance.
So self-serving and gutless, it's disgusting.
A friend used to have a saying to describe certain people's jobs: "Too honest to steal, and too lazy to get a real job."
Well, I'd say that was true of most congressmen, but I'm not sure about the stealing part, LOL.
Good, lets get a hard count recorded vote on how many hysterical, poll-chasing racist xenophobes we have on 'our side'
I'm starting to think we may not even have to wait until 2007 to see an impeachment vote in the House.
Lord help me... I actually have gained respect for McStain on this issue.
But only this once... I promise.
The Republican's better be careful because piling on could be political suicide. I wish they would just let the sleeping dog lie.
It's okay, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Could Hassert be any more stupid?
Boeing relocates to Chicago and Hassert rewards them by sabotaging the company. Boeing will lose Billions because of this politican stunt.
Sheesh. Talk about 1 step forward, 4 steps back in the WOT. Congress knows how defeat us better than Al Queda.
Just so I am clear on what constitutes being a racist-xenophobe nowadays, was it racist after 9/11 to give extra scrutiny to people attempting to obtains visas from Saudia Arabia, the UAE and Egypt?
Instead of wasting their time on this dead issue they should begin to fix the same system they created that caused most of this mess.
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