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Skriven 2006-02-25 23:39:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0602251) for Sat, 2006 Feb 25
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Fact Sheet: DP World: Myth Vs. Fact
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For Immediate Release
February 25, 2006

Fact Sheet: DP World: Myth Vs. Fact



MYTH: The Bush Administration is outsourcing the security of our ports to a
company owned by the Government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

FACT: The United States government is in charge of U.S. port security. We
will never outsource the security of our ports. The U.S. Coast Guard and
Customs and Border Protection are in charge of security of our ports.

MYTH: UAE is a haven for terrorists and allowing a UAE-owned company to
control our ports will endanger our national security.

FACT: UAE is a friend and ally of the United States, a partner in the
Global War on Terror, and a strong partner in global port security.
Partners like the UAE are siding with the international community in the
fight against terror. The UAE has been very helpful in the fight against
terrorism, especially intelligence sharing and cutting off terrorist
financing. The UAE has worked with us to stop terrorist financing and money
laundering, including by freezing accounts, enacting aggressive
anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing laws and regulations,
and exchanging information on people and entities suspected of being
involved in these activities. The UAE has a world class carrier port, and
we have more U.S. Navy ships in UAE ports than in any other port outside
the United States. The UAE services our ships while in port, refueling
them, providing them with food and water, and doing small repairs, among
other services. Dubai was the first Middle Eastern entity to join the
Container Security Initiative - a multinational program to protect global
trade from terrorism.

  þ General Peter Pace, Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs of Staff: "[T]he
    military-to-military relationship with the United Arab Emirates is
    superb. ... They've got airfields that they allow us to use, and their
    airspace, their logistics support. They've got a world-class air-to-air
    training facility that they let us use and cooperate with them in the
    training of our pilots. In everything that we have asked and work with
    them on, they have proven to be very, very solid partners." (U.S.
    Department Of Defense, Press Briefing, 2/21/06)

  þ General Tommy Franks, Former CENTCOM Commander: "I personally believe
    that we have had no greater ally in seeking a resolution of problems in
    the Middle East, the Palestinian issue, the Israeli issue, than we have
    found in the United Arab Emirates." (Fox News' "Hannity _

MYTH: This transaction will make it easier for terrorists to infiltrate
America's ports.

FACT: America's ports will be just as secure after the DP World transaction
as they were before. First, the workers unloading cargo at the Nation's
ports will remain the same ones working today. Any management or other
personnel from outside the country will still have to go through the normal
visa application process, which includes a very rigorous vetting process
that not only does systems checks, but also other background and
fingerprint checks. Once in the United States, visa recipients are put
through another set of checks to make sure no critical information has
changed since the visa was issued. The visa process has been strengthened
and improved by the Federal government since the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001.

MYTH: Because DP World is a state-owned firm, a foreign country will own
the ports of six major U.S. cities.

FACT: The ports will remain under the ownership and control of state and
local authorities, not DP World. As a port operator, not owner, DP World
will manage the physical equipment and movement of containers on and off of
ships, not the security related to the shipped containers, which is the
responsibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As a result of the
transaction, DP World will own and operate terminals at some U.S. ports,
which means they will be responsible for physically operating the cranes
that move cargo. Ports are publicly owned facilities, typically by State or
local authorities. Like all port operators, foreign or domestic-owned, DP
World will have to comply with Coast Guard and Customs security
regulations. In addition to meeting all these standards, DP World has
committed to additional security measures requested by the Department of
Homeland Security and signed a letter of assurances making commitments to
meet and maintain stringent security standards for the port terminals that
they will operate in the United States.

MYTH: No foreign-state-owned firms operate terminals in U.S. ports.

FACT: Several terminal operating companies at U.S. ports are joint ventures
or are owned by foreign-state-owned firms. The China Overseas Shipping
Company (COSCO), a state-owned firm, has a joint operating agreement with a
U.S. stevedoring company at Long Beach, California. Eagle Marine Services -
which operates terminals in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Oakland - is owned in
part by the government of Singapore. The Yang Ming Marine Transport Company
- which operates terminals at Tacoma and Los Angeles - is owned, in part,
by the Taiwanese.

MYTH: The CFIUS review process was merely a rubber stamp.

FACT: The CFIUS review process was a rigorous and thorough analysis of the
national security implications of the transaction. Well before the
transaction was publicly announced, both DP World and Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P_

On November 2, an intelligence assessment was requested and a little more
than 30 days later, the intelligence community concluded that DP World's
transaction does not pose a threat to the U.S. national security. This
assessment was completed before CFIUS's official review began.

On December 16, the companies made their official filing with CFIUS that
began the 30-day review process. During this 30-day period, the Department
of Homeland Security negotiated an assurances letter with the companies.
Roughly 90 days after first being approached about the transaction and 75
days after thorough review of the transaction began, the CFIUS members
decided not to oppose the transaction, and the review closed on January 17.
As with any CFIUS decision not to pursue further investigation, the
decision was made by consensus. The review process requires any agency that
sees a potential credible threat to the national security to raise those
concerns.

MYTH: The Administration is ignoring the law.

FACT: Just as was the case under the first Bush and Clinton
administrations, the CFIUS process has required a Federal agency to
register a security concern before a further investigation can be launched.
When there is a consensus of CFIUS members, the transaction does not
proceed to an extended investigation. A Committee consensus means that no
member saw any national security threat, or there were no unresolved
national security concerns to prevent the transaction from going forward.

MYTH: This transaction is only now being made public.

FACT: DP World announced its intent to purchase P_ Even before the official
announcement, the press was reporting on the possible transaction as early
as October 30. Between October 2005 and January 2006, there were at least
162 mentions of the transaction in the press.

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