Columnist Stuart Rothenberg seems to think that there is a lot of political smoke but no real national security fire in the dispute over a UAE-owned company operating American ports.

Talking of “turning over” American ports to a foreign company that apparently is controlled by a foreign (Middle Eastern) government raises the specter of terrorists flowing through the ports of New York, Baltimore and Miami. But with the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Immigration and Naturalization still firmly in U.S. control, it’s far from clear how that sale threatens U.S. security or enables terrorists to gain access to the U.S.

What we have here is a small dose of real concern and a huge amount of grandstanding by legislators, Republican and Democratic alike.

Democrats smell an opportunity to appear tougher than the President on national defense and homeland security, enhancing their generally weaker credentials on fighting the war against terror.

Republican legislators realize that they cannot allow Democrats to seize the one issue that the GOP has had an advantage on since September 11, 2001. And GOP members of the House and Senate even get an issue on which they can “stand up to” Bush, a hard-to-pass-up opportunity since the President’s job ratings remain weak.

The more I read about this arrangement, the less concern I have with the decision to let the deal proceed. Many American ports are under foreign control. Only one American company (a Halliburton subsidiary) is in the port operations business on a scale that they could take on the job. The employees doing the work will not change, and the security work will still be done by the government. And as was pointed out by a guest on Bill BennettÂ’s show this morning, the real security issues come at the ports where these shipments originate, where they security is not as tight.

Do I think that this deal should – and will – go through? Yes, probably. But do I still think it needs to be held up for a short interval for additional consideration? One again, I have to say “Yes, probably,” if only to provide reassurance to the American people
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Posted by: Greg at 11:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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