[dirtboy]

Can you please tell me why a deal handing over the payroll, financial and logistical operations of 7 ports is a serious concern for you?

Three words. Manifests. Security procedures.

If al Qaeda sympathizers in management tell al Qaeda where the security holes are, it increases the chances they will be able to make sure a weapon hidden in a container will not be one of the five percent that is inspected. And if they can alter manifests (logistical operations), that would help hide a suspect container from the Coast Guard.

[brothers4thID]

Companies with security contracts with the US government have to have specific arrangements set up and inspections carried out by DSS to comply with those arrangements. Part of that is detailing extensively any contacts with foreign nationals.These same contractors and US government employees are bound under the rules of their respective security clearances from detailing how our inspection procedures work.

Furthermore, your example does not exclusively rely on a foreign government or corporation owning the controlling interests of a port. Any shipping company from anywhere in the world can do exactly what you just described- and without overview or approval by the branches that approved this deal.

There are very legitimate, let me say that again VERY legitimate, concerns over the security of US ports. All of the ink, airtime and man hours dedicated to this subject over the past few days is even more a farce when you consider that something like 80-90% of our imports are not screened at all due to contract issues with US labor unions.
We could all be dedicating our time and hard earned tax dollars to something much more worthy- a comprehensive overview of port security itself. Who owns the port matters not one whit when the ports themselves are more sieve -like than the US border.