Posted on 02/19/2006 10:31:50 AM PST by Cagey
WASHINGTON — A New Jersey congressman said Saturday he wants to require that security officials at U.S. ports be American citizens to prevent overseas companies operating shipping facilities here from hiring foreigners in such sensitive positions.
Republican Frank A. LoBiondo, chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, cited "significant" security concerns over a $6.8 billion sale that gives a company in the United Arab Emirates control over operations at six major American ports.
LoBiondo said he wants the new mandatory citizenship requirements approved by Congress and President Bush before state-owned Dubai Ports World completes its pending purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
The British company, the world's fourth-largest ports company, runs major commercial operations at shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
The Bush administration earlier approved the deal, which has drawn escalating criticism by lawmakers who maintain the United Arab Emirates is not consistent in its support of U.S. terrorism-fighting efforts.
Caught by surprise over the breadth of concerns expressed in the United States, Dubai Ports World is cautiously organizing its response. The company quietly dispatched advisers to reassure port officials along the East Coast, and its chief operating officer _ internationally respected American shipping executive Edward "Ted" H. Bilkey _ was expected to travel to Washington soon for meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration is defending its approval of the sale, and strongly resisting demands by Congress to reconsider.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack described the United Arab Emirates on Friday as "a long-standing friend and ally" and said the United States and UAE had a good relationship.
Bush visited the port in Tampa, Fla., on Friday but did not mention the dispute. Bush said an important element of defeating terrorism was taking precautions domestically and working with local officials.
"We've got to protect ourselves by doing smart things in America," Bush said. "I appreciate working with the mayors on homeland security issues."
But one of those mayors, Martin O'Malley of Baltimore, criticized Bush's approval of the ports deal as an "outrageous, reckless and irresponsible decision" and urged the president to reconsider.
O'Malley, co-chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Homeland Security, also is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Maryland.
"I think that they did not take into account the vulnerability of America's ports," O'Malley said Saturday in a telephone interview. "I think Congress needs to have further hearings on these things."
He said only 5 percent of the shipments into the nation's ports are inspected, calling that a stark contrast to Hong Kong, which inspects 100 percent of shipments.
Dubai Ports World declined through a spokesman to respond to O'Malley's remarks.
In New York, families of some victims from the September 2001 terror attacks planned to criticize the deal Sunday during a press conference with Sen. Charles Schumer, a leading critic of the sale. Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is dubious any assurances can justify the UAE's involvement in American ports.
Schumer and others have cited the UAE's history as an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against New York and Washington.
"A lot of families are incensed by this, because you're talking about the safety of the country," said William Doyle, whose son Joseph died at the World Trade Center. "We have a problem already in our ports because all of our containers aren't checked, but now they want to add this unknown? It's not right."
LoBiondo's legislative proposal would amend federal maritime laws to require facility security officers, which operate at terminals in every U.S. port, to be American citizens. LoBiondo said there now are no citizenship requirements, which he said permits foreign companies with a stake in U.S. terminal operations to employ security officers who are not Americans.
"We cannot be lax about our nation's security nor fail to recognize that our ports are realistic targets of terrorists," LoBiondo said.
ping
I would Imagine that the Day to day operations will be handled by American Citizens and all attempts will be to keep the operations squeaky clean. This may be an opportunity to install state of the art detection equipment at the ports in question, you can bet that DHS made the new owners jump through hoops to get government approval.
What is his thinking? That the moderate Arabs will have control over the radicals? From what I've seen over the last few months, that is NOT the case.
They really need to reconsider this. Doesn't sound very wise at the moment.
Nothing like handing the Dems a bipartisan issue to hammer us with. Good grief, Jorge.
Bush has yet to discover that he cannot serve two masters.
There'$ only one ma$ter in thi$ $ituation.
I'd like to know why Bush is supporting this!
I think it really makes President Bush look weak on homeland defense.
It's absolutely pathetic and shameful that we would outsource our port operations to ANY foreigners, EVER.
Much less to Arabs during a war against islamofascism.
Our parents who survived the Great Depression and won WW2 must be disgusted with the Quislings and sellouts now running this nation into the ground.
Does it really?
seems like he's the globalist he always was to me.
Republicrats suck.
"Bush has yet to discover that he cannot serve two masters."
He only serves one: Corporatist Globalists.
We already have a balance of trade deficit.
To some extent going global is inevitable, but not to this degree. We will be bankrupted, are already in heavy foreign debt.
I don't think anybody likes the outsourcing of all the jobs in either party, yet there is not enough grass roots power to put a stop on it. People are losing their good-paying jobs by the thousands, and most will never find a comparable one.
It is not fear that is esculating over foreign control of our ports. It is disbelief, shock and blood boiling anger at the damn fools who made this moronic decision and it will not be tolorated.
"...yet there is not enough grass roots power to put a stop on it."
Neither party follows anything other than a specific agenda that has been in place for decades. What the little guy wants is not their concern. Their concern is the corporation, the banks, and the top elite.
I donno, I think on some issues such as immigration, ports control etc President Bush's administration is making some very very wrong decisions that can be exteremely harmful to us.
I just cannot understand why in the world we are still willing to allow countries such as UAE take control of our ports.
I think onle one person in the whole administration gets things right and it is the one and only HRH Donald Rumsfeld.
I pray to God Prez. Bush is not loosing focus on protecting America and American interests.
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