| Funny how the debate over the United Arab | | | | No nation or company can be certain to keep |
| Emirates management takeover of US port | | | | spies and undercover terrorists off their |
| facilities fails to focus on spying as a | | | | staffs and, in the UAE case, out of our |
| major concern. Nothing less than the security | | | | ports. Our own CIA has had counter spies |
| of the Ports of New York, New Jersey, | | | | working undetected for years. It's the nature |
| Baltimore, Miami and even New Orleans, a | | | | of the beast and it can't be avoided no |
| major choke point of America's oil supplies, | | | | matter how much counter-spin the |
| is at stake. | | | | administration puts out. With UAE the |
| | | | potential for infiltration is much greater |
| Enough has been written about how petrodollar | | | | due to domestic pressure from militants. |
| flows find their way into the hands of | | | | |
| militant Islamists and finance the forces of | | | | With spies inside our ports there will be |
| world terrorism to establish it as fact. | | | | little port security. The hows, whys and |
| These money transfers make it clear that any | | | | intricacies of port operations will soon be |
| Middle East oil producing nation is subject | | | | in the hands of those who have sworn to |
| to powerful influences from Alqaeda and other | | | | destroy us. From there it is only a matter of |
| such groups. As long as the money flows, the | | | | time until our enemies find the key to unlock |
| Middle East oil fields will be safe from | | | | and penetrate port security with impunity. |
| violent interruptions; it's a global-scale | | | | |
| version of mafia protection rackets: you pay, | | | | The danger is real. Much of the military |
| your store's O.K.; you don't pay, your dead! | | | | hardware and supplies bound for the Middle |
| | | | East flow through the east coast ports UAE |
| Information can also flow as a result of the | | | | desires to manage. New Orleans is a central |
| same threats and pressures that deliver | | | | choke point for a major portion of America's |
| petro-dollars to those seeking the demise of | | | | oil supplies. |
| our country. Putting the government of an oil | | | | |
| producing nation that is subject to such | | | | We have men and women working and fighting in |
| pressures in charge of managing US port | | | | Iraq and Afghanistan. Our government has an |
| facilities creates a pipeline of information | | | | obligation to protect their safety to the |
| to those who have sworn to destroy us and | | | | greatest extent possible. Failing to protect |
| gives them a road map to our domestic weak | | | | information concerning the type of equipment, |
| points, an early warning system on military | | | | the volume of military supplies, the ships on |
| operations and presents opportunities for | | | | which they travel, etc. provides advance |
| sabotage and attack on a grand scale. | | | | notice of our plans and endangers rather than |
| | | | protects our troops. |
| Ports have always been a focal point for | | | | |
| spying-and for good reasons: the lifeblood of | | | | On the domestic front, imagine a spy or |
| war, commerce, industry, and economic | | | | terrorist with credentials allowing |
| prosperity flows through them and tells its | | | | unrestricted movement inside the Port of New |
| secrets to well-trained watchers. The | | | | Orleans. He or she could find the points at |
| presence of credentialed spies in our ports | | | | which to best choke off 20% or more of |
| could provide all this information to | | | | America's oil supplies violently or through |
| terrorists at the speed of the internet. | | | | more subtle sabotage. Further imagine such a |
| | | | person duplicating his or her authentic |
| Managing even portions of a major port | | | | credentials and leading bombers or other |
| provides continued access to port facilities | | | | destructive forces to the choke points. Or |
| and requires knowledge of the port's systems, | | | | imagine a top manager pressured into turning |
| security, geography, and operations. Daily | | | | his head to passage of dangerous cargoes into |
| presence in a port provides knowledge of | | | | America. The potential risks are |
| security systems, credentials (That can then | | | | incalculable; but very real. |
| be reproduced) and knowledge of the levels of | | | | |
| security they represent. More sensitive | | | | I am amazed that our government thinks that |
| information on how containers are selected | | | | letting Americans know that their government |
| for inspections--- or no inspections, | | | | is spying on them without warrants is a |
| emergency response or security systems and | | | | serious breech of national security; but can |
| how to disable them can easily be found once | | | | turn over management of our ports and the |
| experienced spies are inside the fence and | | | | information they contain to a foreign power |
| managing our ports. | | | | subject to severe pressures from our sworn |
| | | | enemies. Worse yet, we'll pay them to do it! |