Reply #110: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [View All]

Summary: Faced with widespread criticism in recent weeks, the Bush administration and some of its supporters have promoted numerous false and misleading claims intended to downplay the approval of a deal that would turn over control of terminal operations at six U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World (DPW) -- a company owned by the government of Dubai, a member state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- and cast critics of the transaction as racist, politically opportunistic, or both. The media, in turn, have often repeated these claims without challenge or correction.
On February 11, the Associated Press reported that Dubai Ports World (DPW) -- a company owned by the government of Dubai, a member state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- intended to purchase the British company Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O) in a $6.8 billion deal, thereby acquiring the leases to terminals at six major U.S. ports. The AP's disclosure that the Bush administration had approved the takeover a month earlier sparked a bipartisan outcry from members of Congress, governors, and national security experts. Many cited what some major media outlets have described as the UAE's "mixed" record on terrorism and further claimed that the administration flouted federal law by failing to conduct a full review of the national security implications of the deal. In response to these concerns, DPW -- which had reportedly been working in close coordination with the White House -- requested on February 26 that it undergo the full investigation. While the deal is expected to be finalized today, DPW has suspended the part of the transaction relating to U.S. ports pending the results of the additional review. If members of Congress and the Bush administration ultimately agree to the transfer of these leases, DPW would assume control of the terminal operations at ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans.

Faced with widespread criticism in recent weeks, the Bush administration and several of its supporters have promoted numerous false and misleading claims intended to downplay approval of the DPW transaction and cast their critics as racist, politically opportunistic, or both. The media, in turn, have often repeated these claims without challenge or correction, as Media Matters for America documents below.

#1: DPW is simply "Dubai-based"

In reporting on this controversy, numerous news outlets have ignored the fact that DPW is state-owned, referring to it simply as an "Arab company" or "Dubai-based." But the distinction between a company owned by a foreign government and one simply based in a foreign country is critical as a matter of law.

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http://mediamatters.org/items/200603030005