Washington – The Bush administration decided last month that a politically explosive deal to hand over operations at major American ports to a government-owned company in Dubai did not involve national security and did not require a lengthier review, administration officials said Wednesday.
The decision was made by an interagency committee led by Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt. The group included officials from 12 departments and agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, State and Homeland Security, as well as the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Kimmitt said the company, Dubai Ports World, had been thoroughly investigated by the administration, including by intelligence agencies, and that on Jan. 17 the committee members unanimously approved the transfer. “None of them objected to the deal proceeding on national-security grounds,” he said.
Kimmitt made his comments as the furor over the ports roiled Washington, where Republicans on Capitol Hill remained in open rebellion against President Bush, and the White House spent the day trying to tamp down the uprising.
An objection from any member of the interagency committee would have started, as required by law, an additional 45-day review. Such a review is being urged by governors and members of Congress. But Bush and his top aides are strongly resisting that.
Even before the transfer became known, the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Treasury Department had used an overly narrow definition of national-security threats because it wanted to encourage foreign investment.
Scott McClellan, the president’s spokesman, said Bush became aware over the weekend of the transfer of operations at major ports, including Baltimore, Miami and New York. “We probably should have briefed Congress about it sooner,” McClellan said.
Republicans said the White House could ease the furor by agreeing to delay the transfer.