Schwarzenegger Not Worried by Ports Deal
Newsmax
| February 28 2006
The proposed takeover of operations of several
American seaports by a United Arab Emirates-owned company, Dubai Ports
World, is no big deal to Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor
does, however, support the 45-day delay in implementing the deal so
that any issues or concerns may be vetted with regard to national security.
Schwarzenegger noted Sunday that many of the operations
at California's biggest ports - Los Angeles-Long Beach and the Port
of Oakland - are already run by foreign firms, although not all of these
are state-owned, as is the case with Dubai Ports World. According to
the San Francisco Chronicle, the companies come from such nations as
China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Denmark.
"We have the ultimate control over security," Schwarzenegger
said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "They occupy space. They
lease space. They don't own it."
The 45-day delay Schwarzenegger backed is meant
to allow the interagency committee that oversees port management - the
same folks who initially approved the deal - to more fully investigate
the arrangement's commitment to security. It had been demanded by critics
on the left and right and was accepted by the Bush administration on Sunday.
"When you see complaints coming in like this, you've got to study
it further," Schwarzenegger said. "It has to be thought through
by experts. We cannot compromise security because that would be terrible
if that happens."
On other matters, when asked by the Chronicle
if he plans to run for re-election this fall as a Bush Republican he replied
"I will run as an Arnold Republican, which is that I am there to
govern and to serve the people of California. Some on the right wing feel
I should only govern for Republicans, but that is not what I promised
the people of California," he added.
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