Don't be part of the hysteria surrounding the pending transfer of ownership of a private ompany that oversees operations at 6 large U.S. ports (among many, many others worldwide).
Must be a slow news week again. Last week, it was the criticaly important story about Cheney accidentally shooting his hunting partner (I think some Congressional hearings are in order here. Why should Cheney be allowed to go around shooting people when the rest of us can't?)
This week, its the SHOCKING REVELATION that those damn furriners are at it again, trying to get a toe hold into this great country of ours by taking over IMPORTANT SEA PORTS.
Just calm down, Hillary. Sure it's yet another opportunity to take a swing at our beleaguered commander in chief, but there's really no there there once you get there. Excerpts from today's Chicago Trib story by Mike Hughlett:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-port-security,1,5987293.story?coll=chi-news-hed---------------------------------
Port experts say no risk in deal
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A state-owned Arab company's foray into the American maritime business has been abeled in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere as a terrorism risk and a virtual takeover of key U.S. ports.But the deal by Dubai Ports World to operate in 28 American ports is being viewed very differently by many shipping industry participants and some security experts. They said Wednesday that a change of ownership in the company that runs docks and warehouses won't compromise national security.
It won't change who works on the docks or what they do, they point out, nor will it change security procedures, which are overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and armed port authority police.The ports themselves are government-owned, usually by states or cities . . . Some experts said that the biggest maritime security threat isn't at the dock but at factories and warehouses that could be located thousands of miles away. That is where the metal cargo containers being shipped to the United States are loaded and locked before crossing the oceans.
"The real issue is not so much what comes into the country, but where it starts," said Harlan Ullman, a senior adviser on national security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, D.C. . . . Security concerns
shouldn't be an issue in the Dubai deal, Ullman said, because terminal operators
like P&O and Dubai are relative bit players in port security.For the whole article, go to:
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