SHIPPING PORTS' SECURITY & ARABS

This is probably quite a shock to some people but I actually agree with BUSH on allowing an UNITED ARAB EMIRATES’ company manage a number of U.S. shipping ports – GASP! The ports in question are currently managed by a BRITISH company. The British company, Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, London is being bought by Dubai Ports World, U.A.E.

I will admit, the Bush administration really screwed this issue up and that is why it is SUCH A BIG DEAL to everyone – both parties. Bush did not know about this, it was approved by his department heads without letting Congress or anyone else know about this – as is their usual modus operandi. They really needed to SELL /EXPLAIN this beforehand since it is such a sensitive security issue. It may be too late for them to pull this off and even Bush’s threatened veto may be overridden – he has NEVER used a veto.

United Arab Emirates is a country my company has dealt with in the past. It is small, Arab and has always supported the U.S. They also invest a lot in this country. They would assume “management” of the port facilities. The security of the ports is handled by American agencies like the Port Authority, Coast Guard, Customs Department, local police authorities, etc. The workers are also American since the Longshoreman’s Union controls the labor part (for better or worst). The management could have some UAE workers but the president of the company is British.

Anyway, the big brouhaha is about national security. Everybody that is opposed to the deal see the management company sneaking in nuclear or biological weapons – this is bullshit.

Number one, they are not in charge of port security. They are not in charge of inspecting cargo – we are and we are doing a rotten job of it. Any jackass could sneak anything they want into this country because we HAVE NO REAL PORT SECURITY.

In my mind, Dubai Ports World would do a better job at managing these ports because now it has something to prove to Americans.

Scrapping this already approved “business” deal would send a bad message – Americans think all Arabs are bad and we are really paranoid (stupid).

I can understand the concern and I hope cooler minds will prevail once they have heard the facts and are convinced this has NOTHING TO DO WITH NATIONAL SECURITY but…………………

If this becomes a POLITICAL ISSUE and Democrats see a chance to attack Bush and Republicans see a chance to distance themselves’ from Bush to improve their chances at the next elections, then logic and reason will take a back seat and political reasoning will take over. If this happens I feel the United States will be worst of for it and we really could use some positive happenings.

The Bush administration could have handled this differently (even though they followed established law and protocol). Maybe new laws will be enacted setting requirements for the prior involvement of Congress or something (even though that may not be wise) but in this age of insecurity and Arab phobia, it would probably be helpful.

Janusz