Dubai Ports World, a shipping company from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has bought six major United States ports. The deal, which occurred Sunday, has many politicians both democrat and republican concerned about the company's risk to national security.
"The decision to finalize this deal should be put on hold until the administration conducts a more extensive review of this matter," said Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to the Associated Press.
According to news reports, Dubai Ports World purchased London-based Peninsular and Oriental System Navigation Co. for $6.8 billion, giving it control of major ports in Manhattan, Newark, N.J., Baltimore, Miami and Philadelphia.
The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment approved the deal. This committee includes representatives from the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, Commerce and State.
Concerns about national security stem from an investigation by the FBI, where it was determined that the U.A.E. was operationally and financially important to the 9-11 hijackers.
However, the U.S. State Department has recently praised the U.A.E as an important military and anti-terror ally.
The country, which is a loose federation of seven emirates in the Saudi peninsula, is also one of three countries to acknowledge the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan.
Now, several governors, congressmen and senators want President Bush and his advisors to reconsider this decision and threaten to take matters into their own hands.
According to the AP, Frist also said that if the Bush administration does not delay its decision on the matter, he would introduce legislation that would delay the decision until further review.
The news of the deal has some around The University of Memphis talking about the possible threats to national security and the economy.
"High military power usually equals high quality ports," said Richard Evans, a U of M economics professor. "I haven't seen that foreign companies can manage our ports better than us."
"Ports have always been strategically important to most nations and are national issues."
Others believe in the ability of the government to control the situation. According to news reports, both Donald Rumsfeld, defense secretary, and Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said that the U.S. Coast Guard would oversee all operations within the ports in order to ensure national security.
"Even if they are a foreign company, they would still be subject to U.S. regulations, so there wouldn't be an imminent threat," said William Smith, an associate economics professor.
But some still remain skeptical of the deal and its possibilities.
"I certainly think this raises a red flag," said Jason Morgan, a sophomore engineering major.
"Why do we have to turn to them (U.A.E) to run our ports? I think the potential risk to national security is there," he said
