The Bush administration and other supporters of the deal made the following arguments:
The U.A.E. has proven itself a strategic partner by allowing the U.S. military access to its land, ports and airspace for basing and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan;
The U.A.E. has allied with the U.S. in the Global War On Terror;
Blocking the transfer of operating rights held by a British firm to an Arab firm appears discriminatory against Arabs;
Security would remain a government responsibility as always, and performed by the United States Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Israel's largest shipping firm, Zim Integrated Shipping Services, came out in support of the deal.
"During our long association with DP World, we have not experienced a single security issue in these ports or in any of the terminals operated by DP World... We are proud to be associated with DP World and look forward to working with them into the future." Zim Integrated Shipping Services CEO, Idan Ofer, February 22 2006. [17] [18]