10 March 2006
Bush Says Collapse of U.A.E. Ports Deal Sends Wrong Message
Says it is important to strengthen relationships with moderate Arab countries
Washington -- President Bush said he is concerned over the message sent to U.S. friends and allies in the Middle East and beyond by the collapse of a transaction that would have allowed a Dubai-based company to operate terminals at six U.S. ports.
Speaking March 10 at the National Newspaper Association Government Affairs Conference, Bush said that in order to win the War on Terror, “we have got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East.”
Bush said the decision by Dubai Ports World to divest from the U.S. port terminal facilities they had purchased from the British Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company had been a difficult decision for the company and for the United Arab Emirates.
“I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East,” he said.
Despite the Bush administration’s satisfaction that U.S. national security would not have been undermined by the transaction, “Congress was still very much opposed to it.” Bush said he would work with Congress “to provide a greater understanding of how these transactions are approved … and how we can improve that process in the future.”
The president described the United Arab Emirates as “a committed ally,” and “a key partner” for the U.S. military, noting that Dubai services more U.S. military ships than any other country in the world. The country is sharing intelligence on terrorists and helped to shut down Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan’s nuclear proliferation network, Bush said.
“UAE is a valued and strategic partner,” Bush said. “I'm committed to strengthening our relationship with the UAE and explaining why it's important to Congress and the American people.”
IRAQ
On Iraq, President Bush said the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra was “the first real test” for the country’s interim government. (See related article.)
He acknowledged that “there was violence and killing,” but said Iraqi society “took a step back from the abyss. And people took a sober reflection about what a civil war would mean.”
Bush also praised the response of the Iraqi forces. “In 16 of the 18 provinces, there was relative calm. And they performed, by and large, in good fashion,” he said.
He called upon Iraqi leaders to “take advantage of the desire of the Iraqis to live in a peaceful world” and form a unified government, saying “the sooner they can get a unity government up and running, the more confidence the people will have in their future.”
The president said the United States will “make sure [to] do everything we can” to prevent a civil war in the country, and expressed his belief that “we will succeed, and we must succeed … because the Iraqis want us to succeed [and] they want to succeed.”
For additional information, see Iraq Update.
A transcript of the president’s remarks is available on the White House Web site.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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