Port Security to be handled by United Arab Emirates

[Martin]

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/con...6/s1573900.htm

This has been all over the news recently.

Bush today said its ok for the United Arab Emirates to handle our port security.. It was reported on FoxNews that the terrorists on 9/11 originated from the same area.

more articles on this mess :

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=6304
http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/207614.htm
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-333284c.html (from the father of someone who died in 9/11 saying "Bush has gone insane".

[Sypher]

I don't think that anything like this should be handled by any foreign owned company. It doesn't matter what nation the company is from. It should be handled by a US owned company.

[Free-range Toilet Roll]

Well the workers at ground level are still american so even if a few arab business men brought in under this deal are paid to look the other way they will have little , if any, influence on weapons supply to the US

I would be far more concerned about the risk posed by small vessels entering uncontrolled ports... if illegal immgrants can get in so can a nuclear weapon... remember, they don't need a massive container carrying an MIRV ICBM, it only has to be a jolly little crate that could slip in on a fishing boat unnoticed, or even one of those trendy suitcase devices pioneered by the soviets... and who says it has to be nuclear? They could slip in enough sarin to turn 90% of the population of san francisco into vegetables inside a very small package

But why worry about ports and smuggling when the most destructive weapons are already in the USA?

It took about a year but they finally got it straightened out...

U.S. ports deal clears last hurdle
Sale by Dubai company almost fell through over N.Y. port demands
Feb 16, 2007

Six major U.S. port operations will come under U.S. ownership after Dubai Ports World cleared a $50 million hurdle Friday to end a yearlong political conflict over security at the nation's cargo terminals. DP World, based in United Arab Emirates, agreed in December to sell its U.S. ports operations to AIG Global Investment Group, following months of criticism that the UAE firm could not be trusted running the security-sensitive shipping apparatus.

That deal suddenly foundered this week when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which must consent to the sale, asked the two companies for tens of millions of dollars in cash and future infrastructure work at the Port Newark Container Terminal. The business brinkmanship led two U.S. senators on Thursday to dub the Port Authority's demands greedy and to threaten political payback if the agency didn't back down.

Improvements promised

Late Friday, officials said they had struck a deal to resolve the impasse, with AIG agreeing to make more than $40 million worth of infrastructure improvements, as well as a direct payment of $10 million to the Port Authority. "We're pleased that we've reached an agreement that both protects our public investment and helps insure that AIG is a long-term partner in the health and growth of the ports," said Port Authority spokesman Stephen Sigmund. DP World officials said the entire sale should be finalized in March.

More http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17193325/