Drama over P&O acquisition driven by run-up to US polls

Dubai: It is more than just anti-Arab sentiment or security concerns that are driving the furore over DP World's acquisition of P&O. Instead, the frantic run up to US elections is providing fuel for a fire that some are concerned will damage US-UAE relations.

A raft of midterm Senate and House elections is pushing Democrats and Republicans to fight for a powerful prize looking tough on national security.

"A big card has been the national security card," said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the nonpartisan American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington DC.

"Republicans are scared of the election in November when they are up there and [Bush] is not."

US companies are increasingly concerned, however, that the political tangle in the US could damage their interests in the Middle East.

Already, a delegation of US business people based in the UAE announced plans to meet with lawmakers in Washington to try and change sentiment there.

According to US reports, there is even concern that aerospace giant Boeing could lose its lucrative deals with Emirates airline.

"Our decision to purchase Boeing aircraft was based on business priorities and we have never threatened to cancel these orders," an Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News.

However David Kaminski-Morrow, editor of Air Transport Intelligence, said that the Middle East was a tough enough market for US companies before the DP World controversy.

"Boeing already has to work hard to make inroads in the Middle East," he said. "[Airbus] has pretty much run riot in the Middle East. It is very political."

On November 20, Emirates announced a $9.7 billion (Dh35 billion) order for 42 Boeing 777s, a deal which could make it the largest operator of that aircraft model.

Gulf News reported that Boeing has also received orders from Egypt, Libya and Pakistan, as well as UAE-based carrier Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.