Bush defends ports deal

Washington: Risking a showdown with the US Congress, President George W. Bush threatened to veto any legislation that would block Dubai Ports World's takeover of the management of major American seaports.

"After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward," Bush told reporters aboard Air Force One. If Congress passed a law to stop the deal, "I'll deal with it with a veto."

The issue of whether state-controlled Dubai Ports World of the UAE should be allowed to take over the management of six major US ports has erupted as a major political headache for Bush.

His fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill joined Democrats in questioning whether the Dubai company could be trusted to sufficiently guard the ports.

Senate Republican leader Bill Frist and House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert added their voices to the outcry against the decision.

"If the administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review," Frist, a Tennessean and potential 2008 presidential contender, said in a statement.

Hastert, usually a strong ally of the president, called for an "immediate moratorium" on the deal in a letter to Bush. "I am very concerned about the national security implications that this could have for the safety of the American people," he wrote.

Bush said the Dubai firm would not be in charge of security and that the deal had been thoroughly reviewed to determine whether it would leave the country vulnerable. Dubai is a US ally, he said.

"If there was any question as to whether or not this country would be less safe as a result of the transaction, it wouldn't go forward," Bush said.

Not to go ahead with the deal, he said, "sends a terrible signal to friends around the world that it's OK for a company from one country to manage the port, but not a country that plays by the rules and has got a good track record from another part of the world."

Answering questions about the risks entailed by allowing US ports to be managed by a Middle Eastern company, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised the UAE as a reliable ally in the war on terror, "a very, very solid partner in our workings in the Gulf."

The administration's endorsement put it at odds with a nearly unified bloc of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who held a succession of press conferences and statements Tuesday condemning the deal.

Unless US lawmakers prevent it, Dubai Ports World's acquisition of the British firm which currently manages the ports is to be finalized on March 2.

Ports affected by the deal are in New York; Miami; New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.