The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee came out full barrel Thursday against the Bush administration's approval of Dubai Ports World taking over operations of port facilities in six U.S. cities.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said in a telephone interview from Washington that allowing the deal to go through would be wrong.

"We need to kill this deal," Hunter said during a break from an Armed Services Committee hearing on the issue. "We need to have American ports in the hands of and operated by Americans."

As part of his break with the administration, Hunter said he will introduce a bill on Tuesday that would require American ownership of any port or transportation infrastructure facility deemed by the Department of Homeland Security as critical to U.S. security interests.

Hunter, whose district includes portions of North County, said the disclosure of the port deal two weeks ago has "exposed" the vulnerability of U.S. ports to security threats.

He said he is specifically working against the deal with Dubai Ports World, which is owned by the country's government, because of past history of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member.

In 2003, Hunter said that United Arab Emirates allowed 66 American-made high speed electrical switches which can be used to trigger nuclear weapons to be sent to a Pakistani business despite U.S. protests.

There have been several other transhipments of materials used in the construction of nuclear bombs through Dubai such as centrifuge parts and a liquid used in nuclear reactors, he said.

"They have a record of turning a blind eye to U.S. interests," Hunter said.

While he does not contest the administration's arguments that Dubai has allowed the U.S. military overflight authorization and basing of troops in that country, he said it has also made similar accommodations to countries at odds with America.

"They have also been allowing the bad guys to use their ports for transshipments," he said. "They have a record of turning a blind eye."

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said he was not opposing the deal unless it is demonstrated that Dubai Ports World would have control over any aspect of port security.

"Duncan Hunter and I are not exactly in perfect alignment on trade issues in general," Issa said in a telephone interview from Washington. "Where we do align is that I believe we need to know for certain that anyone who is being given access to our seaports or our aerial ports doesn't have access to our security systems."

Issa, whose district includes northern San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County, also said there are several other foreign-owned companies with port terminal operations in the U.S.

"They can own it because they do not have any control of any aspect of the security," he said.

Under the deal with Dubai Ports World, the company would assume port operations at ports in New York, Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans and Philadelphia.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.