Arab firm to delay purchase of US ports

Dubai Ports will delay plans to take control of six major US ports until it has held talks with Bush administration officials…

Dubai Ports will delay plans to take control of six major US ports until it has held talks with Bush administration officials and Congressional leaders, the company said today.

Dubai Ports' takeover of British ports and ferries group P&O will proceed on schedule in spite of the controversy caused in the United States, the statement said.

However, the state-owned ports operator will delay taking over operations at the six US ports now managed by P&O.

Last night Democrats accused the Bush administration of being too hasty and inadequately attentive to security when it let a state-owned Arab firm acquire terminal management at six major US ports.

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Senior administration officials from the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury and Homeland Security appeared before a hastily called Senate committee briefing to give assurances over the deal for Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates to buy the US port operations of British firm P&O.

Democrats questioned the level of security scrutiny, given that top government leadership was uninvolved in the deal's approval and that the vetting panel had rejected only one deal among the 1,500 it had reviewed since 1988. Just 25 deals had required a second-level, 45-day review.

"The American people need to have confidence that the port deal won't undermine national security and that the administration isn't outsourcing our national security," said Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.