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Dubai CEO says port deal will succeed despite US opposition |
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3/6/2006 1:19:09 PM |
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WASHINGTON : The head of a Dubai company facing a US political firestorm over its multi-billion dollar bid to takeover the operations of six major American ports voiced optimism the deal would succeed.
In an with CNN television, Dubai Ports World chief executive officer Mohammed Sharaf said: "As far as we're concerned the deal is going to go through."
However, the US administration of US President George W. Bush -- after initially approving the 6.8 billion dollar deal -- has been forced to launch a fresh review of the transaction amid fierce political opposition from within its own ranks.
Republican representative Duncan Hunter, the chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, is seeking to sink the deal.
Hunter alleges Dubai operates as a "bazaar for terrorist nations" and cannot be trusted to safeguard American national security interests.
Duncan told ABC News' "This Week" program on Sunday that government-owned DP World cannot be trusted to run major US ports in Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia.
"Dubai has a reputation of being the place where you go in ... if you want to ship something with anonymity," Hunter said, claiming it had been used as a transshipment center for weapons proliferation, including nuclear centrifuges.
Asked about Hunter's claims, Sharaf told CNN in an interview from the company's headquarters in Dubai, that DP World is a global player that takes security issues very seriously.
"We operate in five continents of the world. We are recognized as the best in the industry. Obviously, the American people have an issue. We would like to know that and rectify if there are any security measures that we need to take and we have not taken it yet," Sharaf said.
Sharaf also noted that the British government had approved the deal and he warned of serious financial consequences for investors if US lawmakers derail the deal.
Numerous US lawmakers have lined up in opposition to the deal, citing the United Arab Emirates recognition of the Taliban government and concerns that it was home to two of the September 11, 2001 hijackers.
Even prominent Democrats including Senator Hillary Clinton have attacked the deal, as political passions mount ahead of November's congressional election.
Democratic Representative Harold Ford is using the issue in his bid to win a Senate seat, saying "we shouldn't outsource this to anyone".
However, President Bush and senior administration officials support the deal.
And the chief US military officer, General Peter Pace, stressed that the UAE is one of America's closest allies when it comes to military cooperation.
"We could not expect better cooperation from the United Arab Emirates," Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Fox News Sunday.
"They service more of our warships than any other port other than a US port anywhere in the world. Everything we do with the UAE military is very positive," the top US general said.
Such links between the two nations were so strong as recently as 2000, that the US Congress approved the sale of 80 high-tech F-16 fighter jets to Dubai in a multi-billion dollar deal benefitting the Lockheed Martin defense group.
DP World agreed last week to hold off finalizing the deal in a bid to soothe mounting US political opposition.
The Dubai group has agreed to a new 45-day review of the deal by US authorities that would see it takeover Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Navigation Co. (P & O), which currently runs the six contested American ports.
Some lawmakers, including Hunter, are moving, however, to author legislation that would torpedo the deal.
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