Strife deepens over port security

To Whom It May Concern:

We came across this information from the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well. If this is somehow a repeat of an
earlier post, sorry we missed it. This can always be ignored or deleted.


NEW YORK - It started out as a straightforward business deal between two
international companies owned by American allies - the Dubai Ports World
acquisition of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O). In one
short week, it has erupted into a political firestorm that could have
far-reaching diplomatic implications for United States relations with the
Arab world.

The deal was little noticed outside of the elite international business
world until port officials learned that a company owned by the United Arab
Emirates would be in control of certain operations at major American ports
in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans.

With the memory of 9/11 still fresh and continuing concerns about a lack of
adequate security at US ports, alarms sounded from New York to New Orleans.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg talked of canceling New York's contract with the
company. Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, said
he didn't "feel real warm and fuzzy about it." On Monday, the governors of
New York and Maryland threatened legal action to try to stop the deal. And
this week, Congress is stepping in. Senate majority leader Bill Frist said
"the decision to finalize this deal should be put on hold until the
administration conducts a more extensive review of this matter."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D) and Rep. Peter King (R), both of New York, also
introduced emergency legislation Tuesday to "suspend the handover" of
certain port operations. "Approving this contract in the dark of night and
ignoring all of the many questions asked about this takeover is an affront
to anybody who cares about our nation's security," Senator Schumer said in a
statement Tuesday.

The Bush administration, which approved the sale, says it thoroughly
reviewed all the national security implications. Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff made the rounds of TV talk shows Sunday morning, trying to
assure skeptics that the administration had put proper security precautions
into place. But he said that information was classified.

Despite the administration's efforts, the controversy continues.
"What we're seeing is a very unfortunate knee-jerk reaction in terms of the
Muslim world," says Lester Lave, an economist at Carnegie Mellon
University's Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh, noting the United Arab
Emirates is a key US ally in the Muslim world. "If you treat your strong
allies this way - this is like a poke in the eye - then what in the world
should people who are not our strong allies expect from us?"

In past two years, the US has been negotiating a free-trade agreement with
the UAE. Professor Lave agrees that security is important, but he believes
it can be negotiated in the contract. Some homeland- security experts say
the interagency review, which was led by the Bush administration's Treasury
Department, may have provided even greater security guarantees than most
international business deals do.

"In a weird way, the interagency review allows the US to hold international
companies to a higher level of standards and accountability," says Frank
Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George
Washington University. "There are some legitimate security concerns, but
it's going to come down to enforcement, and arguably at a higher standard
than we have had in the past."

Companies like P&O don't provide security at the ports. The US Coast Guard
and Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement do. For
instance, in New Orleans, P&O is one of eight terminal operators responsible
for marketing the port, signing agreements with shipping lines, hiring
labor, loading ships, and moving cargo.

But P&O has no responsibility for security. "We have our own police force,
harbor patrol, customs officers, and Coast Guard," says Chris Bonura,
spokesman for the Port of New Orleans. "That won't change no matter who is
operating the terminal."

P&O is not commenting on the political uproar over the deal. But a source
within the company worries that the media and politicians are
misrepresenting the arrangements. Other who work within the port communities
agree. They note that P&O will not be "managing" the ports, as many news
organizations have reported. Instead, the company is one of many that leases
terminals at the port.

"I've never quite seen a story so distorted so quickly," says Esther de
Ipolyi, a public-relations executive who works with the port of Houston.
"It's like I go to an apartment building that has 50 apartments, and I rent
an apartment. This does not mean I took over the management of the whole
building."

Security is a top priority at the ports, but there's concern the Bush
administration has not provided enough funds to properly pay for it. Earlier
this month, the president of the American Association of Port Authorities
complained that the $708 million allotted for maritime security over the
past four years amounted to only one-fifth of what the port authorities had
identified as needed to properly secure the ports.


Happy sailing,
John Sisker
SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at
(800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
http://www.shiptoshorecruise.com

Bush should get Halliburton to run the ports.

no, no, no. You do not understand how this works. You PAY Halliburton an
outrageous fee (on an unbid contract) for their "assistance" and then pay
them 10% of the (unbid) contract for them to hire our UAE friends to buy the
ports.

Paul


"steinbrenner" wrote in message
news:MTE0MTA3Njc2NC5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1141076764@nulluse r.com...


Bush should get Halliburton to run the ports.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 16:46:04 -0500, steinbrenner wrote
(in article m):



Bush should get Halliburton to run the ports.




The US tax payer may have given Haliburton the money to pass thru UAE to buy
the port. Remember the missing 8 Billion from Iraq.