Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said a Dubai company's bid to manage six major U.S. ports should go forward, threatening to veto legislation that blocks the transaction because of security concerns.

``After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward,'' Bush told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a speech in Golden, Colorado. ``We believe this is a legitimate deal that will not jeopardize the security of the country and at the same time send out a signal that we're willing to treat people fairly.''

In response to a question, Bush said he would veto any legislation enacted to block the deal.

``I don't view it as a fight, I view it as the right policy,'' he said.

The administration's approval of the acquisition of London- based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. by a firm controlled by the United Arab Emirates has ignited a storm of protests from Democrats and Republicans in Congress and from governors of the states where the ports are located.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist joined Democrats such as Senator Hillary Clinton of New York in calling on the administration to delay or block the $6.8 billion sale.

New York Governor George Pataki and Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich, both Republicans, also have announced their opposition.

Brookly McLaughlin, a Treasury spokeswoman, has said the administration can begin a new review of the deal only if the companies submitted false or misleading information.

Dubai's royal family sent a delegation to the U.S. today to seek meetings with officials to allay concerns about the emirate's control of U.S. ports as part of a takeover of P&O.

``This process has been extensively reviewed,'' Bush said. ``I really don't understand why it's OK for a British company to operate our ports but not a company from the Middle East that our experts are convinced that port security is not an issue,'' he said.

P&O's biggest operations in the U.S. are at the Port of Newark, where it has 30-year lease from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to operate the 180-acre terminal, which can handle about 1 million containers a year.

The lease is shared by A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the largest container-shipping company. P&O also has a 50 percent stake in the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company, which handles about 500,000 containers a year at the port in Florida.

Dubai beat Singapore's PSA International Pte in the takeover, approved on Feb. 14 in London by P&O shareholders, which more than doubles DP World's terminals to 51, with the capacity to move 33.3 million containers.

P&O also operates terminals in Philadelphia and New Orleans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Murray in Golden, Colorado at brmurray@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 21, 2006 15:35 EST