Arab Firm’s Port Deal Called a Threat

U.S. terms for approving an Arab company’s takeover of operations at six major American ports are insufficient to guard against terrorist infiltration, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday.

“I’m aware of the conditions and they relate entirely to how the company carries out its procedures, but it doesn’t go to who they hire, or how they hire people,” Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) told Associated Press.

“They’re better than nothing, but to me they don’t address the underlying conditions, which is: How are they going to guard against things like infiltration by Al Qaeda or someone else? How are they going to guard against corruption?” King said.

King spoke in response to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s comments Sunday about conditions of the sale. King said he learned about the government’s terms for approving the sale from meetings with senior Bush administration officials.

Chertoff defended the security review of Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, the state-owned company given permission to take over the port operations. Chertoff said the government typically builds in “certain conditions or requirements that the company has to agree to make sure we address the national security concerns.” But Chertoff declined to discuss specifics, saying that information was classified.

“We make sure there are assurances in place, in general, sufficient to satisfy us that the deal is appropriate from a national security standpoint,” Chertoff said on ABC’s “This Week.”

London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. was bought last week by DP World. Peninsular & Oriental runs major commercial operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Critics have cited the United Arab Emirates’ history as an operational and financial base for the Sept. 11 hijackers.