UAE Port Deal

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We can't just outsource our security to any country relying on that there is "ANY EVIDENCE that their proposed purchase is suspicious in any way." No, we need to be SURE--but we can't. So outsourcing our security to any foreign country is a bad idea, and outsourcing our security to an Arab Muslim country is a worse idea, and outsourcing our security to an Arab Muslim country that has a fair amount of terrorist activity going on is yet a worse idea.


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Hi MMMMMM,

Can you tell us exactly what is being outsourced. Apparently security of those ports has and will continue to remain the responsibility of the USCG. How much of an impact does this company's operation have on actual port security?

Stu

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Hi Stu,

The deal calls for outsourcing the management of the ports, right? Howcan that not affect the overall security scenario? Even if the USCG supplies the actual security grunt personnel, if some of the management running the port were to be compromised by infiltration of terrorist operatives, they could look the other way when nukes or dirty bombs are brought into our ports--or worse. By the way, only 5% of our incoming containers are inspected anyway (compared to 100% in Hong Kong). Allowing those who are potentially closer to the enemy, to be in charge of operation of our ports, strikes me as highly imprudent.

Besides, why the need to do it all in the first place? Maybe save a bit of money? Looking at the total contract size it is small potatoes compared to what our country spends routinely on many other things. No, there is no need to do this. And there are unacceptable risks, which even if low, are to be properly weighted very heavily because the disatrous result would be devastating. Look at it this way: odds vs. what we stand to win or lose. Even tiny increased odds of having nukes go off in our ports is unacceptable when it comes to saving a few hundred million dollars or even a billion, because losing those cities would cost us TRILLIONS. And that's just the financial cost.