The transaction should go forward, in my judgment. If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward. The company has been cooperative with the United States government. The company will not manage port security. The security of our ports will be ? continue to be managed by the Coast Guard and Customs. The company is from a country that has been cooperative in the war on terror, been an ally in the war on terror. The company operates ports in different countries around the world, ports from which cargo has been sent to the United States on a regular basis.
Because DP World acquires through P&O American ports including New York, New Jersey and Miami, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are denouncing a possible breach in the frontline against terrorism.
This is a more strident response than last year's rebuff of CNOOC, the Chinese state-owned oil company, and its $18bn bid for Unocal. The UAE is a strategic US ally in the Middle East. The Bush administration is right to defend the deal and the alliance.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Dubai-based company the Bush administration has cleared to manage six U.S. seaports will take whatever security measures are needed to ensure the controversial deal goes through, a top executive says.
