WASHINGTON (AP) - Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company signaled surrender Thursday in its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports.
"DP World will transfer fully the U.S. operations ... to a United States entity," the firm's top executive, H. Edward Bilkey, said in an announcement that capped weeks of controversy.
Relieved Republicans in Congress said the firm had pledged full divestiture, a decision that one senator said had been approved personally by the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
"The devil is in the details," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, reflecting a sentiment expressed by numerous critics of the deal.
[font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"]The announcement appeared to indicate an end to a politically tinged controversy that brought President Bush and Republicans in Congress to the brink of an election-year veto battle on a terrorism-related issue. The White House expressed satisfaction with the outcome.[/font][/font][font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"]"It does provide a way forward and resolve the matter," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.[/font][/font][/p][font face="Verdana,Sans-serif"][font color="black" size="2"][/font][/font]
