Frist Calls for Review of Port Security Deal

Via USA Today: Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, is now calling for a review of the port security deal made with a Dubai company which has "at least two ties to the White House". There is also pending legislation that was scheduled to be presented today:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Lawmakers planned to unveil legislation Tuesday that would block an Arab-owned company from taking over operations at six major U.S. ports.

The move comes amid increasing criticism of a deal that would see Dubai Ports World take over London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. P&O operates the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., scheduled a news conference Tuesday afternoon in New York to discuss a bill that would suspend the deal.

[...]

The deal, which is scheduled to close March 2, has been approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The committee, which is chaired by the Treasury Department, includes representatives from the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and other agencies.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended the administration's decision to back the deal as he made the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows.

"We have a very disciplined process, it's a classified process, for reviewing any acquisition by a foreign company of assets that we consider relevant to national security," Chertoff told NBC's "Meet the Press." "That process worked here."

Congresspeople on both sides believe the Bush administration has clearly jumped the shark on this issue and the outcry has been loud and furious. Chertoff, one of the least trusted people in America right now after the Hurrican Katrina fiasco, will have some serious explaining to do once this review is underway.

Perhaps if the Bush administration would actually fund national security like it had promised to so many times before, the US wouldn't be in this position. So, while Bush, his administration and Republican leaders attempt to blame the "middle-men" involved in making this deal, they need to take a look at their role in all of this as well. They failed. This is the result of that failure.

(Further reading: Time Magazine attempts to defend the deal, while it also adds this tidbit:

...it could get a good assessment of the workings of Dubai Ports World from its own current nominee for the post of U.S. Maritime Administrator — Dave Sanborn, previously a top executive at Dubai Ports World.)

Update: Predictably, Bush has threatened to veto any legislation that might stop this deal.