The fierce opposition in the United States to a management takeover of six US ports by a Dubai-based company is seen by Gulf analysts as unjustified and even racist.
“There is a racist dimension in this matter, and that is because the firm linked to the deal is Arab, which, in the opinion of some people, should not manage US ports,” Emirati political analyst Abdul Khaleq Abdullah told Agence France-Presse.
Dubai Ports World (DPW) won the bidding to purchase the British company P&O which currently manages the US ports, in a global deal worth $6,8-billion.
The proposed deal has angered critics in the US Congress who say it threatens US port security despite the support voiced by President George Bush.
“Those who attack the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have positions that can only be described as political foolishness and stupid,” Abdullah said.
“On the other hand, the position of President Bush, who defended the deal, is good because he realises the depth of political and economic relations between his country and the UAE,” he added.
Abdullah said that Americans who oppose the takeover seemed “unaware that the deal is purely commercial”.
Workers at the second-busiest US port of Newark, which is poised to be managed by DPW if the deal goes through, rallied on Monday against its takeover, accusing the Bush administration of selling out on national security.
“We don’t want Arabs taking over port security after 9-11,” said Joe Graffo (60) who attended the protest at Port Newark container terminal, close to the site of New York’s World Trade Centre which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Prominent Saudi economist Ihsan Buhulaiga said American concerns over the deal should be taken into consideration.
“Let’s try to imagine being in their place. The perpetrators of the September 11 attacks did not descend from the sky. They came from the Gulf region. So, it is vital to answer the concerns of those fearing the deal,” he said.
The September 11 attacks left a total of around 3 000 people dead in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Two of the 19 plane-hijackers came from the UAE, while 15 others came from neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
But Buhulaiga, who is also a member of the appointed Saudi Consultative Council, claimed the fears were still “unfounded and unjustified”.
Former Kuwait minister Ali al-Bagheli said he was stupefied by the “exaggerated” opposition from US Congressmen.
“We can understand the reaction of the ordinary American man in the street, whose mind links terrorism with everything Arab and Islamic. But what is difficult to comprehend is to find that the noise is caused by American legislators,” he said.
“It is unjustified and regrettable”, he added.
Opponents of the deal say the White House failed to properly consult Congress over the deal and have also pointed out that some of the financing for the September 11 attacks was funnelled through the UAE.
Arguing that the takeover would have no impact on port security, Bush has threatened to veto any efforts in Congress to delay the deal.
But it emerged on Monday that DPW had agreed to a 45-day US review of the proposal, which the White House predicted would help to allay security concerns among legislators.
The US Coast Guard, meanwhile, has warned that “intelligence gaps” barred it from determining the potential terrorism risks in the ports’ takeover. – AFP