Aftermath of the port deal fiasco

Jim Lobe looks at the possibility for Mass Casualties in Collapse of Port Deal Inter Press Service 03/10/06.

As he explains, the Bush administration's supporters at the Wall Street Journal and the Weekly Standard are predicting gloom and doom for international trade from the blocking of the Dubai port-security deal.

But it's clear that Bush's popularity took yet another hit on this one:

Bush's political standing, already at its lowest ebb, according to the latest public opinion polls, has now taken yet another major blow, following last fall's fiascos over Hurricane Katrina, the aborted nomination of his long-time personal attorney to the Supreme Court, and the continuing flow of bad news from Iraq.

His domestic problems were underlined by the overwhelming 62-2 vote Wednesday in the Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee to block Dubai Ports World from taking over management of port terminals.

Democrats, who have turned increasingly sceptical of the "free-trade" consensus that has long guided Washington's international economic policy, were more than eager to attack the administration's approval of the deal on national security grounds. But the speed with which the vast majority of Republican lawmakers deserted the president - especially after he pledged to veto any effort to thwart the deal (reminiscent of his "bring-it-on" swagger in Iraq) - confirmed that the White House's once-matchless ability to enforce party discipline is no more.

Let's hope that last judgment about Republican party discipline is right!

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