CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight - Transcript

CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight - Transcript

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DOBBS: Senator Susan Collins is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. She continues to stand strongly in opposition to the Dubai Ports deal, even as some other Republican leaders have softened their opposition. Senator Collins joins us tonight.

Senator, it is good to have you with us. You've said after the closed meeting that you held in a hearing yesterday coming out of that closed session, you seemed more than a little annoyed. You said the deal was, in your judgment, deeply flawed, the process. Tell us where you are tonight.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), HOMELAND SEC. CHMN.: Well, I'm exactly at the same place. I'm convinced that the administration failed to do the kind of in-depth review of the national security implications of this proposed transaction, that is clearly required by law to be done.

We also know, as a result of some documents that we got yesterday and released yesterday, that the Coast Guard's intelligence assessment raised some significant concerns about this proposed transaction, concerns about personnel, operations, foreign influence, and perhaps most troubling, the Coast Guard said that there were significant intelligence gaps that prevented those questions from being answered.

DOBBS: The director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, today said he's confident there's a low risk in the hearing led by Senator Stevens -- the opportunity to give homeland -- he gave Homeland Security the opportunity to say that they had no problem. This looks like a juggernaut of a campaign by this administration to move ahead.

Interestingly, your colleague, Senator Pryor, asked point blank, if this deal is going to close, the Dubai Ports World deal, with P&O, the British firm, is going to close Thursday, what is this review process about? Now, I ask you, Senator, the same thing.

COLLINS: Well, Treasury Department officials have assured me that this is going to be a real review this time, and that the Dubai company is going to abide by whatever conclusion is reached. In addition, the administration does have the authority under the law to go to court and force a divestiture of the assets, if needed.

DOBBS: With the president of the United States saying categorically even though he said he didn't know about any of this until a matter of days before it exploded on Capitol Hill, how could one assume that he would go anywhere near a court to enforce that kind of decision and result when he's saying categorically right now -- and threatening a veto and saying categorically he supports this deal?

COLLINS: Well, I must say that I'm surprised at the president's reaction. He has been a stalwart in the war against terrorists, has led our country in that regard, and he clearly was not served well by his cabinet and his staff, because he didn't know about the transaction until he learned about it the same way the rest of us did, by watching television.

DOBBS: Well, Senator, I must say you're being kind, you're being generous, as well as critical of this deal. The president is not reciprocating. He's threatening to veto and his administration, and I will tell -- as I've reported here tonight, Congressman Pete King, your counterpart in the House, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, he's more than a little resentful of the fact that the White House is indulging in patronizing, condescending attitude suggesting that they only need the time to educate you poor ill- informed servants of the people and representatives of the people's will over on Capitol Hill. How do you react?

COLLINS: Well, Peter King and I talked last night again and we share very similar views on this. This is important. This matters to our homeland security. We know that our ports are very vulnerable to a terrorist attack and it just doesn't make sense to rush this deal through without carefully evaluating the national security impact.

DOBBS: You know, Senator, in covering lots of transactions on Wall Street, major corporations, I can think of none that could have -- in what is called due diligence, could have been carried out in 30 days or 90 days or even 45 days.

And it's kind of due diligence that it wouldn't be satisfactory for corporate America, yet it seems to be through the CFIUS law and process to be adequate to preserve national security. I mean that's remarkable.

COLLINS: You know, that's a really good point, and I think it shows that the process is flawed. I'm also troubled by the fact that the chair of the committee is the Secretary of Treasury or his designate rather than the secretary of Homeland Security or Defense. After all, this is supposed to be a national security review.

I also am troubled that there is no representative of the intelligence community, sitting on this committee. You have the director of OMB but not someone from the CIA or the director of national intelligence.

DOBBS: Senator Susan Collins, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. We thank you very much.

COLLINS: Thank you, Lou.

DOBBS: We'd like to know what your thoughts are. In tonight's poll our question is, do you have confidence that the 45-day review of the Dubai Ports World deal will be intensive and thorough and the outcome based solely on the national security interests of this country? Please cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results later here in the broadcast.

Coming up next, we'll hear from a prominent Arab American who says anti-Arab racism is driving the opposition to the Dubai Ports World deal.

And sinking poll numbers, a mutiny in the ranks. I'll talk about the administration's political nightmare with three of the country's top political analysts. Stay with us.

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