Bush says, Trust Me

President George W Bush has again sought to ease security fears over a deal that gives an Arab company control of six major US ports.
"This wouldn't be going forward if we were not certain that our ports would be secure," he said.
Some lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, fear the deal will make the US more vulnerable to terrorism.
The deal will put six of the largest ports in the hands of Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates.
'Sense of calm'
After a cabinet meeting on Thursday, President Bush said: "People don't need to worry about security".
The president again stressed the UAE was an important partner in the US-led war on terrorism.
"The more people learn about the transaction, the more they'll be comforted that the ports will be secure",
George W Bush said.
He said briefings with Congressmen were "bringing a sense of calm to this issue".
The Associated Press said on Thursday it had obtained documents that showed Dubai Ports World had promised to cooperate with any US investigations as a condition of the takeover.
The ports involved are New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
They are currently run by British ports and shipping firm P&O but it has agreed a $6.8bn (£3.9bn) takeover by DP World.
The deal has angered senior lawmakers.
Bill Frist, leader of the Republican Party in the Senate, said he would introduce a law to block the deal if the government did not delay the deal so that an investigation could be held.


That led President Bush to say he would use the first veto in his six-year tenure to stop such a law.
On Wednesday the White House revealed the president had not known about the deal until a few days ago - after it was concluded.
It also sought to soothe the row by admitting it should have briefed Congress sooner.
Correspondents say senior Republicans believe Mr Bush should have paid more attention to the way the deal would be perceived in the US.
Critics fear an increased risk of terrorist attacks, pointing out that the UAE was the home of two of the hijackers involved in the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The president of the Arab American Institute, James Zogby, has described some of the language being used against the deal as "shameful and irresponsible".
The media in Dubai itself has also condemned the US criticism of the deal as " Islamophobia".
The US administration has rejected the concerns of critics of the deal.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said: "Nothing changes with respect to security under the contract. The Coast Guard is in charge of security, not the corporation."