DP World Plays Dirty In Port Deal 
Let us first examine the original P&O - DP World contract. Review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is purely voluntary. Here, both parties contracted to a CFIUS review. Yet DP World included the following in its contract:
In regulatory papers, the companies said either the committee must agree not to formally investigate the purchase or Bush must not move to block the sale for national security purposes
Read that again. DP World insisted that a Exon-Florio 45-day investigation not be initiated, and that Bush could not block the sale for "national security purposes." The decision of whether a deal should be blocked because of national security should be made by the President and OUR government, not by the DP World and the government of Dubai. Yet the government of Dubai explicitly demanded that it essentially be exempted from a national security review.
More below...
DP World agreed to reveal records on demand about ``foreign operational direction'' of its business to win approval of the deal, Associated Press reported today, citing documents. The papers didn't show a requirement to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders, and there wasn't a demand for the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate government requests, AP said.
So DP World would only reveal some information to CFIUS, while refusing the boilerplate requirements that any other foreign company would be subject to. Why? To insulate itself from the reach of American courts.
But perhaps the most revolting aspect of DP World's attitude towards our national security is its threat to sue the United States government if it blocks the deal:
In legal papers, DP World said it would abide by the outcome of the pending review, but indicated it could sue if the result was any different.
It is with that bullying attitude that DP World has approached concerns about our national security. And "bully" is not too harsh a word for a company that demands our journalists "shut up". I understand why DP World is upset; after all, its plan was to have a hush-hush, backroom deal and instead it has found itself in an uproar of protest. Yet instead of addressing the concerns of Americans in a respectful and constructive manner, DP World has viewed Americans and their security as nothing more than an impediment to a multi-billion dollar deal. And this President, instead of siding with the American people on this, allows their right to information to be trampled by this foreign government.
KEYWORDS: port security, DP World, Dubai
Sign up for a Complimentary Member Account... Join the community! It's fast. And it'll allow you to take advantage of all this site's great features!
| < DP World Debacle: Why? Follow the money! | Alito Wants to Meet with Dobson > |
