Last night, the Treasury Department released a statement saying that the administration "welcomed" DP World's request for another review and that it would begin quickly.
"We are pleased that DP World reached a middle ground with Congress," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in a statement last night.
McClellan said the deal was closely scrutinized during the earlier review. "We believe, however, the additional time and investigation at the request of the company will provide Congress with a better understanding ... and that Congress will be comfortable with the transaction moving forward once it does," he said.
Earlier, National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, on CBS, and Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush's homeland security adviser, defended the administration panel's approval of the deal.
"We're satisfied that there's been a complete review of the deal," Townsend said on Fox News Sunday. "We're satisfied that we've addressed the security concerns."
Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, a Republican who has sought to cool the rhetoric on both sides, said on NBC that a compromise is important to avoid sending the wrong message to America's allies in the Middle East.
"We cannot treat this company as a second-class citizen," said Warner, who met with DP World officials over the weekend. "Since 9/11, they've been a full partner in the war on terrorism. We, as the United States, are dependent on countries like the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, all of them there, to give us the support to fight this war on terrorism. We cannot mess this deal up, and in the eyes of the world."
New York's King, however, said that there were serious issues involved in allowing a company owned by a foreign government into American seaports. He noted that while the UAE has been an ally since the 2001 attacks, it was also one of the few countries to recognize the Taliban and still has to prove it will be a consistent partner in the war on terror.
"I think people who sort of glibly say, `Well, you know, they're not going to handle security, UAE is a great ally' -- 4 1/2 years ago, they were not an ally," King said. "They were working with the enemy. And if those same people are still there today that were there then, these are real serious issues."
gwyneth.shaw@baltsun.com
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
