The article then:

Firm Sues to Block Foreign Port Takeover
By Ted Bridis, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A company at the Port of Miami has sued to block the takeover of shipping operations there by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. It is the first American courtroom effort to capsize a $6.8 billion sale already embroiled in a national debate over security risks at six major U.S. ports affected by the deal.

Five. Unless the US annexed Vancouver or P&O's own roster of North American assets is inaccurate.

[Update: Six, the NY/NJ port is two, per NYT arty on the issue, only one container port, thus my confusion as P&O site divides information btw container business and human transport. Obviously the container port is the interesting one]

The Miami company, a subsidiary of Eller & Company Inc., presently is a business partner with London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which Dubai Ports World purchased last week. In a lawsuit in Florida circuit court, the Miami subsidiary said that under the sale it will become an "involuntary partner" with Dubai's government and it may seek more than $10 million in damages.

The Miama operation, as my presently skeleton analysis at 'Aqoul notes is a 50 percent JV.

Involuntary partner?

USD 10 million in damages?

This of course abstracts away from the issue of DPW status as a corporation - yes a state owned corporation, but if PSA had won the bidding war, would anyone have been pissing and moaning about being in bed with Chinese or Sing Gov?

Of course much may rest on the terms of the JV or whatever partnership structure P&O has with Eller & Cie.

The Miami subsidiary, Continental Stevedoring & Terminals Inc., said the sale to Dubai was prohibited under its partnership agreement with the British firm and "may endanger the national security of the United States." It asked a judge to block the takeover and said it does not believe the company, Florida or the U.S. government can ensure Dubai Ports World's compliance with American security rules.

Well, I should hardly think that a private firm has standing to interfere with governmental interest in security.

It's amusing if sad that suddenly DPW, which has had a positive relationship with American authorities and participates in pre-clearing shipments to the US of A suddenly is suspicious on the basis of... its Arabness, and mere xenophobia.

Jingoism.

The lawsuit represents the earliest skirmish over lucrative contracts among the six major American ports where Peninsular and Oriental runs major commercial operations: New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. The lawsuit was filed moments before the court closed Friday and disclosed late Saturday by people working on the case.

Unless I misunderstood the P&O site on its Port assets portfolio, the NY&NJ port is a single operation. Five ports.

[Update: Six ports, see above note]

P&O as I noted, JVs at the NY&NJ site with Maersk, another leading global operator in port management.

Interesting Maersk has not had an issue in collaborating with DPW elsewhere.

The sale, already approved by the Bush administration, has drawn escalating criticism by lawmakers in Washington who maintain the United Arab Emirates is not consistent in its support of U.S. terrorism-fighting efforts. At least one Senate oversight hearing is planned for later this month.

Politicians maintaining and reality of course being two entirely different issues.

...A New Jersey lawmaker said Saturday he intends to require U.S. port security officials be American citizens, to prevent overseas companies operating domestic shipping facilities from hiring foreigners in such sensitive positions. Republican Frank A. LoBiondo, chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, cited "significant" security worries over the sale to Dubai Ports World.

Ah.

Caught by surprise over the breadth of concerns expressed in the United States, Dubai is cautiously organizing its response. The company quietly dispatched advisers to reassure port officials along the East Coast, and its chief operating officer _ internationally respected American shipping executive Edward "Ted" H. Bilkey _ is expected to travel to Washington this week for meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

Indeed, although on some levels I suppose Dubai and DPW should have understood in the face of xenophobia, rabid jingoism, and irrational anti-Arab bigotry that actually being pro-American and having a concrete record of cooperation and practical collaboration with US authorities really counts for little.

The Bush administration in recent days has defended its approval of the sale, and has resisted demands by Congress to reconsider. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack described the United Arab Emirates on Friday as a "long-standing friend and ally" and said the United States and UAE had a good relationship.

Good, the Bush Administration may have followed a cretinously incompetent in region foreign policy in the past 3 years, at least in this instance their stubborness hopefully will carry through to defend both a profoundly imporant principle of free trade and investment, and defend real interests among one of the few friends the US has in the region. And not a bought and paid for friend a la Mubarek.

...One of those mayors, Martin O'Malley of Baltimore, on Saturday harshly criticized the president's approval of the ports deal as an "outrageous, reckless and irresponsible decision" and urged the White House to reconsider the sale. Baltimore is one of the affected ports, and O'Malley is co-chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Homeland Security. O'Malley also is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Maryland.

What's outrageous and irresponsible is comments like O'Malley's - predicated on nothing but anti-Arab xenophobia.

In New York, families of some victims from the September 2001 terror attacks planned to criticize the deal during a press conference Sunday with Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, a leading critic of the sale. Schumer said he is dubious any assurances can justify involvement by the United Arab Emirates in American ports.

In short, because of ethnicity and religion, Arabische Auslander Raus.

Wonderful.

Schumer and other critics have cited the UAE's history as an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against New York and Washington.

Schumer is an idiot. Hamburg, Frankfurt, even London were as much operatinal and financial bases for al-Qaeda operatives involved in 11 Sep plotting. Perhaps P&O should be banned as well?

Utterly illogical, nasty bigotted guilt by association.

...LoBiondo's legislative proposal would amend federal maritime laws to require facility security officers, which operate at terminals in every U.S. port, to be American citizens. LoBiondo said there are presently no citizenship requirements, which he said permits foreign companies who are or become partners in domestic terminal operations to employ security officers who are not Americans.

"We cannot be lax about our nation's security nor fail to recognize that our ports are realistic targets of terrorists," LoBiondo said.

Why not require them to be Xians as well?

Rather pointless 'requirement' when it comes down to it. I rather doubt non-Americans are actually employed? Of course the next question is what are we really talking about in terms of "security officers"?

Rather shoddy journalism.

I note the dishonest, weakminded little Lefty twit at The Democratic Daily continues with her feebleminded spin. She's managed to concoct some bizarre Bush cronyism scenario based off of the DPW Exec David Sandborn's nomination in January to a Maritime regulatory role. Weird cronyism as the US approval was not consumated, and the fellow in question is well qualified:

Mr Sanborn, a graduate of The United States Merchant Maritime Academy, joined DP World in 2005. He previously held senior roles with shipping lines CMA-CGM (Americas), APL Ltd and Sea-Land and has been based, besides the US, in Brazil, Europe, Hong Kong and Dubai during his career. He has also served in the US Naval Reserve.

Mr Sanborn is due to take up his new role based in Washington DC later in 2006.

However, for the political partisan, smearing out of pure political spite is never an issue.

The other bit of partisan dishonesty this little American lefty whinging twit of a bint engages in is this:

...including the fact the “Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)” waved part of the decision making process, because Homeland Security had an “established” relationship with Dubai Port World. Normally CFIUS conducts a “45-day investigation on top of the initial 30-day review that it usually gives to foreign purchases of U.S. businesses”, but in this case they did not

In fact, "normally" is pure distortion (although it may simply be due to poor reading skills and dimwittedness). The 45 day investigation is an option, not a normal result. See Kay Scholer's FDI Update circular (PDF) as well as an earlier GAO analysis (PDF) .

Our lefty twit desperately would like this review to confirm her preheld beliefs the current American administration was engaged in nefarious dealing.

In fact, the review proceded according to normal process. Notable, by the way, that the Kay Scholer briefer specifically notes that a 45 day investigation is clearly not required for acquisitions, even those with foreign governmental ties. Investigation is only required when national security issues are evident.

Lies and distortions. Whether Right or Left, they are never palatable.

I would tackle Malkin but the woman is a sewer and should be condemned to third rate porn.

Update

By request, comments on:

United Arab Emirates Firm May Oversee 6 U.S. Ports
By Ted Bridis
Associated Press
Sunday, February 12, 2006

A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism.

Ties in the same way that Switzerland, Germany and England have ties to 11 Sep.

Badly written intro.

The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

The $6.8 billion sale could be approved Monday and would affect commercial port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

DP World said it won approval from a secretive U.S. government panel that considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry. The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States "thoroughly reviewed the potential transaction and concluded they had no objection," the company said in a statement.

Well, this Brindis twit seems to be the source of the "secretive" blather.

The committee is hardly "secretive" - but does obviously have a duty to keep sensitive business information confidential. The body is set up to review transactions. Just like other regulatory reviews, that requires confidentiality.

The committee, which could have recommended that President Bush block the purchase, includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.

The committee action followed concerns expressed by a Miami-based company, Eller & Co., according to Eller's lawyer, Michael Kreitzer. Eller is a business partner with the British shipping giant but was not in the running to buy the ports company.

Given the lawsuit, this bears further inquiry.

As I currently understand the US regulations, the Committee review is initiated by the firms involved voluntarily submitted filings to the Committee.

I did not understand the regs to involve other parties.

It would seem there is a business angle potentially to the drum beating. What Eller & Cie's issue is, well that may be the key question.

The State Department describes the UAE as a vital partner in the fight against terrorism. But the UAE, a loose federation of seven emirates on the Saudi peninsula, was an important operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the FBI concluded.

Well that is a fine mendacious piece of semi-literate idiocy.

Saudi Peninsula?

Arabian Peninsula.

100 USD that the reporter is regurgitating some queer spin from the lawyer from Eller & Cie.

The spin regarding the Emirates being an important "base" is rather vile. The normal ignoramus of a reader will conclude that UAE had its hand in the pot, when in fact the connexion is no different than Germany's or the UK's - the individual passages of operatives of al-Qaeda operating clandestinly.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the administration to consider the sale carefully. "America's busiest ports are vital to our economy and to the international economy, and that is why they remain top terrorist targets," Schumer said. "Just as we would not outsource military operations or law enforcement duties, we should be very careful before we outsource such sensitive homeland security duties."

Schumer is an utter cretin.

There is no "outsourcing" of anything. Port operations are merely changing hands, they're already private and they're already in foreign hands. And there is no issue of US Gov security functions being transfered elsewhere.

Sad and despicable attempt to scare people.

Shipping experts noted that many of the world's largest port companies are not based in the United States, and they pointed to DP World's strong economic interest in operating ports securely and efficiently.

"It's in Dubai's interest to make sure this runs well," said James Lewis, who worked with the U.S. committee at the State and Commerce departments.

Well, of course, and they already run many ports quite well indeed.

Stephen E. Flynn, who studies maritime security at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, said even under foreign control, U.S. ports will continue to be run by unionized American employees. "You're not going to have a bunch of UAE citizens working the docks," Flynn said. "They're longshoremen, vested in high-paying jobs."

Beyond that, UAE citizens don't do dock work period.