WASHINGTON - The White House indicated yesterday it is willing to delay the Dubai port deal, hoping the extra time will allow tempers to cool and the deal to go through.
President Bush tried to reassure the nation yesterday that "people don't need to worry about security" and promised again that the Dubai Ports World deal has been fully vetted for security problems.
Nevertheless, the White House softened its tone and moved to buy some time to get its political allies back in line.
The President's political guru Karl Rove hinted that the takeover of the six American ports at issue likely will be put off until fears are calmed. "There's no requirement that it close, you know, immediately after" the deal's March 2 deadline, he told Fox Radio.
DP World said it was willing to delay taking control of the U.S. ports to give congressional critics time to get comfortable with the deal - but it did not say how long it would wait.
The White House and Dubai also went on a public relations offensive, reminding the country that last September Dubai contributed $100 million for Katrina relief. And the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, bought an eight-page special advertising section in USA Today that included pictures of investment partners Donald Trump and golfer Greg Norman.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who has threatened to introduce a bill that would kill the Dubai deal, modulated her tone, as well.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee briefing, she called the handling of the deal "a failure of judgment" because officials "did not alert the President, the secretary of the treasury and the secretary of defense" to the controversial arrangement.
She predicted that the Senate's "first step" would be to insist on an intensive 45-day review of the contract, and a Clinton aide said the bill planned with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) may be recast to include the probe. The Dubai port deal also came under legal fire.
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine filed suit in federal court seeking to force the White House to investigate the agreement.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it plans to go to court today to void its contract with the current operator of the Newark port, which would prevent Dubai from taking charge of it.
And the city's Economic Development Corp., which leases operation of Manhattan's Passenger Ship Terminal, said it is reviewing its options.
