(02/20/06) NEWARK ? Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) wants the Bush administration to kill a deal that would put the United Arab Emirates in control of six U.S. ports.

The proposed deal would turn port operations over to Dubai Ports World, a company said to be run by the United Arab Emirates. Menendez believes the deal would leave the United States more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. The senator says he?s concerned about the United Arab Emirates because it recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which harbored Osama bin Laden. He also accuses the country of controlling the transfer of nuclear parts to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Menendez says he and others against the plan have 10 days to persuade the president to stop the deal. If they don?t, the transaction will go through. If the deal moves forward, Dubai Ports World would gain control of half a terminal at Port Newark.