Pataki Joins Opposition to Takeover of Ports

[Breukelen advocaat]

NEW YORK TIMES

February 21, 2006

Pataki Joins Opposition to Takeover of Ports
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
and PATRICK McGEEHAN

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 â?? The Republican governors of New York and Maryland on Monday joined the growing chorus of criticism of an Arab company's takeover of operations at six major American ports. Both raised the threat of legal action to void contracts at ports in New York City and Baltimore.

"I have directed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to explore all legal options that may be available to them in regards to this transaction," Gov. George E. Pataki of New York said in a statement.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Maryland told reporters that he had "a lot of discretion" and was considering his options, including voiding the contract.

Officials of Dubai Ports World defended the speedy federal approval of its takeover, arguing that both the newly acquired North American division running the terminals and its new Arab parent company had worked closely with United States security officials for decades.

The unit, P & O Ports, "has long worked with the U.S. government officials in charge of security at the ports to meet all U.S. government standards, as do other foreign companies that currently operate ports in the United States," said Michael J. S. Seymour, the unit's president.

The Bush administration said on Thursday that its approval of the deal was final. The sale is scheduled to close on March 2.

Congressional criticism of the deal grew on Sunday after Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security, defended the arrangement in television appearances, saying there were unspecified "assurances in place" that the takeover was "appropriate from a national security standpoint."

Critics in both parties argue that a takeover by Dubai Ports World warranted special scrutiny. The company is controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates, an ally of the United States that has also been home to terrorists, and its newly acquired P & O subsidiary operates major terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican, said the review was conducted in just 30 days â?? far too little time to thoroughly vet the company. "There wasn't a full investigation in the context of a post 9/11 world," he said.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, "You would just think that when a Dubai company is taking over, that is enough to raise a flag â?? at least to do a thorough review, at minimum." Two other Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, are expected to introduce legislation prohibiting the sale of terminal operators to foreign governments.

While Tom Ridge, former secretary of homeland security, has expressed confidence that American officials would not have approved the port deal if it put national security at risk, he said on Monday, "The bottom line is, I think we need a little bit more transparency here."

In an interview with CNN, he said it would be "very appropriate" for the administration to brief Congress on why it believes the port arrangement not only does not compromise security but will actually improve it.

People involved in the approval process said that, like all acquisitions of domestic businesses by foreign-owned companies, the Dubai Ports World acquisition was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, representing 12 federal agencies.

Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the agency could not stop the Dubai company from assuming a 30-year lease on a major container terminal in New York Harbor unless some provision of the lease was violated.

Breukelen advocaat Reviewed by Breukelen advocaat on 02-21-2006. Pataki Joins Opposition to Takeover of Ports NEW YORK TIMES February 21, 2006 Pataki Joins Opposition to Takeover of Ports By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and PATRICK McGEEHAN WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 â?? The Republican governors of New York and Maryland on Monday joined the growing chorus of criticism of an Arab company's takeover of operations at six major American ports. Both raised the threat of legal action to void contracts at ports in New York City and Baltimore. Rating: 5

[mont974x4]

My understanding is that it was still be American labor doing the work...unions I think.

How many other companies in the world provide these services?

We may have no real options and this ruckus is all for show?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking.

[Breukelen advocaat]

My understanding is that it was still be American labor doing the work...unions I think. How many other companies in the world provide these services? We may have no real options and this ruckus is all for show? I don't know, that's why I'm asking.

I don't think that the "labor" question is nearly as important as the homeland security issues.

The events of 9/11 should not be forgotten. Have we not learned our lesson?

We do not, ever, have to accept the option of Arab (or others that are undesirable) control over our harbors. This seems pretty elementary.

[Torog]

Howdy BA,

Well..I'd dang sure move far enuff away from those ports in question,to be outside the blast radius of a nuke and in a direction away from expected fall-out patterns.

The koran , demands that all muslims must lie and decieve the infidels,until the moment to slay them,arises..so if there are any muslims in this UAE company,I wouldn't trust them at their word.

Have a good one ...

[eg420ne]

The deal stinks! americans everywhere should be outrage. Our government sold us out in the 90s selling ports to China, I rather have the Brit's stay incharge of them ports then give it to any another country..Such damaged being done to our Country by this criminal government, Its Treason!!!

WASHINGTON - The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose department heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and who was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/13922695.htm

The UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to Southwest Asian drug producing countries; the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering...

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...k/geos/ae.html

[eg420ne]

The #1 terrorist in the world supports the deal http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/...ity/index.html