Progressive Talking Points 2/28/06

Botched Port Politics

As debate rages on over the sale of operations at 21 U.S Ports to the UAE company, Dubai Ports World, it is almost mind-boggling to see how the Bush Administration mismanaged the politics behind the review. Preoccupied first with the Scooter Libby indictment and then with the vice presidential hunting trip, the Bush White House has become the gang that couldn’t govern straight. Whether or not the Bush administration followed the letter of the law, and there are legitimate questions whether they did, it should have recognized that members of Congress, and governors and mayors who actually own the ports in question, would have serious questions about the merger and should have been consulted. Because of its preoccupation with internal problems, including who in the White House had his picture taken with Jack Abramoff, not only is the White House facing a revolt within the Republican-led Congress, but we are at risk of making the port security debate the next “cartoon” and a vehicle for increased anti-American sentiment in the Middle East.

• Before approving the sale, the Bush Administration skirted the law that requires a 45-day investigation into the sale. In an ordinary case of foreign direct investment, the law requires a 30-day review of the transaction. A 1993 law, however, makes it mandatory to conduct an additional 45-day “investigation” to address national security concerns resulting from foreign ownership. Somehow, the Bush Administration failed to recognize the clear national security implications of the proposed merger. Uncertainty within the Coast Guard about the implications of the arrangement should have by itself justified additional 45-day review.
  
  
• Where was Karl Rove when he was actually needed? For a White House that has shown such political skill and discipline over five years, it is amazing to see how far off their game they are as their policy, legal and political challenges mount. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) process may not require broader consultation, but it is hard to believe that the White House and senior officials from 12 federal departments failed to see that this merger would be politically controversial. Did they not see the same dynamic at work last year with the proposed merger between CNOOC and UNOCAL? You would think someone would have picked up the phone and at least called Karl Rove and said, “I know you are focused on staying out of jail, but you need to pay attention to this.”
  
  
• Because of White House political mismanagement, we are faced with a no-win port security challenge that will undoubtedly fuel anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. Port security has not been a high enough homeland security priority after 9/11. There are legitimate questions that need to be addressed about foreign-owned operations at our ports, arguably America’s most vital and vulnerable critical infrastructure. However, instead of planning detailed and substantive consultations with Congress and local officials, the port security issue and our relationship with the Middle East are caught up in an election year political feeding frenzy and needless institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches. If not handled properly, the port issue can regrettably inflame anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and further isolate the United States from the rest of the world.