On May 29, 2003, Capt. Tormod Hansen took the vessel Sea Launch Commander out of Long Beach Harbor, Calif., bound for a destination on the equator in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He did so in full view of the shipping terminal now owned and managed by the China Overseas Shipping Co.

Aboard was a satellite, Thuraya 2, which was built by Boeing for Abu Dhabi-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. Days later, the satellite was successfully placed into orbit by the Boeing-led multinational consortium known as Sea Launch.

Three years earlier, a similar successful trip took place, but that time, the ship sailed with Thuraya 1 aboard.

In the late 1990s, when the former satellite manufacturing arm of GM Hughes – now owned by Boeing – sold sophisticated satellite phone technology to Thuraya, the U.S. government approved U.S. exports which made it possible for Thuraya to offer satellite phone services which now extend to 100 countries in a zone which encompasses the Middle East along with South Asia, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Last year, among other things, Thuraya began beaming “Al Jazeera Mobile” to its satellite phone customers. Still, Thuraya has never been subjected to the kind of negative portrayal that Dubai Ports World (DPW) has recently experienced.

Boeing is one of very few non-Arab investor companies in the Thuraya project. Thuraya’s largest shareholder is the United Arab Emirates government’s Etisalat Telecommunications Co. Other Arab shareholders include the Abu Dhabi Investment Co., Qatar’s Q-Tel and the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT).

And yet now, we have decided that all UAE government-controlled companies are suspect, and pose a threat to our national security. So why did the Clinton administration approve the sale of this sophisticated satellite phone system to another company which has its largest shareholder, a UAE government-controlled company? And why did Congress say nothing then?

Expanding access to satellite phones in the Middle East is certainly a sensitive undertaking. And this was especially true in the late 1990s, when the Clinton administration handed an OK to Thuraya, following on the heels of the Africa embassy bombings when, among other things, FBI teams were deployed to seize evidence and chase down suspects all over the region.

Osama bin Laden’s and al-Qaida’s possible use of satellite phones has been widely discussed for years. And yet, at no time, was there any suggestion that UAE might provide some sort of back-door access to Thuraya services which might then be somehow exploited by our enemies.

At a total cost of well over $1 billion, Thuraya is probably the single largest satellite deal ever brokered in the Middle East as well. We are talking about cutting-edge two-way satellite phone technology here, not broadcast TV satellites. Nobody objected to the sale, not even a peep, despite the fact that this advanced wireless communications gear could be quite useful if it fell into the wrong hands and was used by those who might threaten U.S. interests throughout the Middle East.

I am not happy that we have slammed the door on DPW. DPW just won approval from the United Kingdom to proceed with its takeover of the ports controlled by P&O there, only to see certain members of Congress subject DPW to slander and use DPW as a way to win votes in the most ludicrous manner.

Maybe Hughes, now Boeing, was just plain lucky when it won this contract and enjoyed the collective silence from Capitol Hill. Contrast it with the vocal outcry now from a steady stream of former Clinton administration officials in particular who want everyone to know about what they now see as a looming threat in the UAE and the shortcomings of the Bush administration in terms of keeping America well defended.

Supporting Thuraya makes sense. Just as the selling of Boeing-built satellites to be launched via the Boeing-led consortium, Sea Launch, to a UAE-based company which includes Boeing as a shareholder makes sense. Supporting DPW made sense too, but many in Congress apparently disagree.

Granted, Long Beach is a long way from Washington, D.C., but the next time the Sea Launch Commander sails, Congress may want to be there.

Peter J. Brown is a freelance writer from Mount Desert who specializes in satellite communications.