Less Than Rigorous Restrictions on Dubai Deal

Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement

Feb 22 9:20 PM US/Eastern
By TED BRIDIS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON

The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.

As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about "foreign operational direction" of its business at U.S. ports, the documents said. Those records broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of ports and equipment.

The administration did not require Dubai Ports to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate U.S. government requests. Outside legal experts said such obligations are routinely attached to U.S. approvals of foreign sales in other industries.

"They're not lax but they're not draconian," said James Lewis, a former U.S. official who worked on such agreements. If officials had predicted the firestorm of criticism over the deal, Lewis said, "they might have made them sound harder."

The conditions involving the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. were detailed in U.S. documents marked "confidential." Such records are regularly guarded as trade secrets, and it is highly unusual for them to be made public.

The concessions _ described previously by the Homeland Security Department as unprecedented among maritime companies _ reflect the close relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The revelations about the negotiated conditions came as the White House acknowledged President Bush was unaware of the pending sale until the deal had already been approved by his administration.

Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House. He pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement, but some lawmakers said they still were determined to capsize it.

Dubai Port's top American executive, chief operating officer Edward H. Bilkey, said the company will do whatever the Bush administration asks to enhance shipping security and ensure the sale goes through. Bilkey said Wednesday he will work in Washington to persuade skeptical lawmakers they should endorse the deal; Senate oversight hearings already are scheduled.

The Bush Administration may not have been blind on this deal, or even dumb, but they were definitely tone deaf. It is surprising to me that Rove did not predict the reception that this deal has gotten, I thought he was supposed to be the canniest political advisor ever. He sure missed this one. This is not the first case of tone deafness for this administration, their TSA edict against "profiling" passengers, screening for those who resembled the hijackers, rather than strip searching little old ladies and five year-old kids is just as "politically correct" and stupid as this deal.

I know this deal makes business sense and that Dubai Ports World is one of only a few international corporations capable of performing the job, but politically tone deaf it remains.

Full Story: Port Deal Contract Needs Better Riders

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