Senator: Dubai to give up control of U.S. ports
Thursday, March 9th, 2006 2:10 pm by NealBreaking news on the UAE Port Deal…
(Sources: MSNBC, Lucianne, Michelle Malkin):
From MSNBC, we have this update on the UAE Ports Deal:
WASHINGTON – A top Senate Republican says a Dubai-owned company has decided to give up its management stake in some U.S. ports.
The news came from John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee and a member of the Senate committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as it became clear that allowing Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates, to take control of some U.S. port operations faced certain defeat in Congress.
Earlier, the GOP leadership delivered that assessment to President Bush in a private meeting at the White House.
Warner, who had expressed some support for the deal, also has been deeply involved in the negotiations.
He delivered the news to colleagues by taking to the Senate floor to read a press release from the company disclosing its plans.
“Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operation of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity,” DP World’s chief operating officer, Edward H. Bilkey, said in the statement.
It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would be enough to cool widespread sentiment in Congress to pass legislation blocking the deal, which has become an election-year nightmare for Republicans.
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