Port management arrangement may be innocuous, but it should be scrutinized by top officials in the administration.

Alittle bit of caution is healthy. For that reason, a delay in the implementation of a deal that gives management of six U.S. ports to a firm based in the United Arab Emirates is wise.

The 45-day delay for a security review, self-imposed by Dubai Ports World after an uproar by Congress and the American public, will offer the chance for the deal and the company to be scrutinized. During that process, a fair hearing must be given both to DP World and President Bush, who favors the deal, as well as to members of Congress who are so vehemently opposed to it.

More than likely this is a routine agreement that will have little impact on day-to-day operations of the ports, let alone a significant impact on security. At the same time, it's understandable that many in this nation are concerned about turning over port operations to a company based in a region of the world that is the home office for the bulk of our enemies.

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Here are the facts: DP World, a state-owned company from Dubai in the UAE, has acquired Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., a British firm that has been managing ports in Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia. The management deal relates to the business affairs of the ports. Security still would be handled by U.S. authorities. Also, the UAE is an American ally that has been welcoming to our military in the recent past.

Some facts do offer reason for concern, though. UAE hasn't always been discriminating about whom it allows to do business within its borders or for what purposes. Terrorist money has been laundered there, including some linked to 9-11 hijackers. Also, according to the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a nuclear proliferation watchdog, UAE has been a shipping point for nuclear materials destined for Iran.

Also a concern is that no one at the highest levels of the Bush administration knew about the deal until after it was approved. Ports are a significant point of entry into the United States, and any deal that changes management of these points of entry should be reviewed by top people, including the president, before approval.

Finally, it is rational to have concerns about the location of the UAE; a fear is that a company managing ports would have access to a wealth of information valuable to potential terrorists. But that fear demands solid answers that possibly could reassure anxious Americans; it is not enough to merely indulge that fear and allow it to kill what could be a sound business proposal.

The United States should not turn DP World away simply because it is owned by Arabs. That would not advance this nation's efforts to encourage democratic principles in the Middle East, and it would not show a healthy respect for a nation that has befriended the United States in its recent military efforts.

After a thorough review of this deal, it may become apparent that DP World will be responsible and trustworthy. That said, this security review makes sense and gives top officials a chance to review the deal before it is approved. That's what should have been done in the first place.