Smooth sailing for UAE ports deal? Not so fast

March 8, 2006

Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee may not be willing to stand up to the White House on warrantless searches, but Republicans in the House see no reason to follow Bush’s lead on the Dubai Ports World issue.

In a clear rebuke of President Bush, Republican leaders in the House are expected to block Dubai Ports World from taking over terminal operations at six U.S. cities.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) is expected to offer an amendment to the emergency supplemental spending bill that his committee will mark up today that would block the deal before the administration completes its 45-day investigation, several GOP aides said.

There have been quiet discussions on the Hill between the White House and GOP leaders, looking for some kind of way out of the controversy that would satisfy Republicans on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Yesterday, the negotiations “collapsed.”

House Republicans sound pretty serious about this. Even Speaker Hastert’s office said, “We do not believe the U.S. should allow a state-owned company to run American ports.”

The plan, at this point, is to attach Lewis’ amendment to must-pass legislation funding hurricane relief and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure is expected to reach the House floor next week.

Stay tuned.

We’ve seen this before..tough republican talk from congress .. then Dick Cheney comes creeping around behind the scenes and does his Godfather number (think of the horsehead in the bed) and suddenly there is a compromise package that is pleasing to the white house…
BushCo are “reasonable men” ….,and they’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse. It would be interesting to know the particulars…why exactly does this lame duck president have so much leverage on the hill? But then if we knew..we’d have to sleep with the fishes.

  • Seeing is believing.

    Sadly becoming a mantra under the Republican Congress. Even more sad is the fact that we rarely if ever, see resistance come to much, except some words spoken/written and soon forgotton, denied, and/or burried.

  • Serious opposition to the ports deal assumes Republicans can put duty to country before loyalty to their party. Hastert will quietly be beaten into submission, Lewis will be cut off at the knees, and Senate Republicans will offer a “compromise” that avoids any unseemly confrontation between Congress and the White House. This will be resolved in the same manner as the NSA hearings.

  • I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t one of those wonderfully ironic instances where the Right-Wingnut’s habit of ‘framing’ their messages isn’t shooting them in the foot.

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but the deal on the table is simply about which corporate entity takes over management of the port facilities, NOT about ‘ownership’ per se. In fact, security for the facilities is still in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

    Regardless, its kind of nice to see the right feeding on its tail for a change.

  • yankeependragon (#4),

    The US government checks to see whether incoming vessels’ crews are wearing appropriate life vests. They also (supposedly) check 5% of the cargo, once it’s unloaded in US ports. That’s it. Those who manage US port facilities have enormous amounts of what should be classfied information about our port vulnerabilities. Dubai won’t even keep records of its activities here in this country where they could be subject to US subpoenas. The whole thing stinks. The elected Democrats don’t care. As usual.

  • yankeependragon (#4),

    The 9/11 highjacker did not run security at Logan Airport. But they were able to examine it closely enough to find all the holes they needed to kill 3000+ Americans.

    Now we want to put a bunch of Dubai middle managers in positions to study security and operations at six of our biggest East coast ports.

    Doesn’t that scare you? Especially when two of the 9/11 highjackers were from the UAE!

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