Editorial: Standing tall on security

Friday, March 10, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

The power of Congress and the will of the American people prevailed Thursday over the obstinacy of President Bush. Dubai Ports World, the United Arab Emirates company approved by the Bush administration to control terminals at six major U.S. ports, announced it would transfer that control to a "U.S. entity."

While the terms of the transfer warrant intense scrutiny, the announcement nevertheless shows that the company understands the powerful opposition to the deal in Congress, and that the opposition reflects the views of an overwhelming majority of Americans.

This understanding contrasts with Bush's earlier reaction Thursday when confronted by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other members of Congress' Republican leadership.

While this group was informing the president that a bipartisan majority of Senate and House members were unequivocally determined to block the deal, based on the strong opinions of their constituents, White House spokesman Scott McClellan was telling reporters that Bush was still adamant about using his veto to preserve the deal.

The Republican leaders had been hoping that an offer last month by Dubai Ports World to wait 45 days before assuming control of the port operations - a period in which the deal could receive further review - would calm the torrent of opposition in Congress. But the House voted 62-2 Wednesday night against the deal, and senators were clamoring for a vote that would likely also have been lopsided against it. It was the House vote that motivated the leaders to tell Bush on Thursday morning that they were powerless to stop or even delay legislation preventing the takeover by Dubai Ports World.

The state-owned U.A.E. company was in line to take over terminal operations at the six U.S. ports because it has finalized a deal to buy a private British company that had previously operated the terminals.

While that sale was pending earlier this year, the Bush administration approved it on the grounds that the United Arab Emirates was cooperating with the United States in the war on terror. But members of Congress expressed outrage when they learned, belatedly, of the administration's approval. They cited government reports and historical facts that cast strong doubt on the United Arab Emirates' loyalty to this country. In the post-9/11 world, they argued, it is too risky to give an Arab country that formally recognized the Taliban and has long opposed Israel a controlling interest in U.S. port operations.

We opposed the deal from the outset but were concerned that the GOP-controlled Congress would accede, as it has in the past, to the president's will. Now that it has stood up to Bush and forced a change in his policy, we hope it rediscovers its rightful role as a check and balance on presidential power.