UAE Port LTTE, please proof before I send [View All]

[usregimechange]

There has been much commotion nationally about the Bush Administration’s policy of allowing a foreign government to take over US port operations. I see three parts to this controversy. One is the basic question of whether we want any foreign government to have such a role at our ports. Second is the question of whether the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has distanced itself sufficiently from ties with terrorists and those who support them to have that much control at our ports. Third, this highlights the consistently poor national security leadership of our current leaders as it relates to maritime security.

UAE was one of only three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban (who harbored Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden) as legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. After Sept. 11th the UAE did some things to change its ways but clearly any approval of their takeover of US ports should have included greater congressional oversight and public debate. What reason can you think of for that not being the case?

Congress has not appropriated the level of funding required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act. According to the Coast Guard about 5.4 billion over 10 years is needed to implement these security enhancements but Bush only requested 46 million for last year. That level of funding, over those 10 years, would leave us about 5 billion short.

By weight of comparison we spend more in Iraq in a month than is needed to fund these improvements to our national security over 10 years. I think the American people deserve as much attention as the Iraqis get in a month.