http://haroldfordjr2006.blogspot.com/2006/02/harold-ford-jr-keep-ports-safe-in-us.htmlThis is in response to the News Sentinel editorial on Friday, Feb. 24, "Ports deal sparking major over-reaction."
A nation's government is as good as its ability to defend, fund and take care of itself. By that metric, the United States is not measuring up. We outsource the job of supplying our homes and businesses with energy by importing 12.5 million barrels of oil every day. We outsource the job of providing our nation with the capital to drive innovation and provide basic social services by borrowing $615,000 every minute, much of it from countries who do not see the world as we do.
Now, with news of the Bush administration's approval to transfer operations at ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami to a state-owned company located in the United Arab Emirates, we are outsourcing the job of keeping our nation's ports secure. At some point, enough is enough.
With all due respect to the president, he is wrong on this issue. This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue. This is a security issue. Delaying this deal is not good enough; we should end it now.
Let me be clear. I do not oppose this transaction because Dubai Ports World is based in the United Arab Emirates. It makes no difference whether we are talking about Great Britain, China, the U.A.E. or Mozambique. Rather, I oppose the deal because the security control of our national assets and infrastructure should be managed by United States law enforcement or the military.
However, I am especially concerned in this case because the U.A.E., while helpful in the fight against terrorism today, still does not recognize Israel, was home to two of the 9/11 hijackers and was one of only three nations in the world to recognize formally the Taliban.
Maintaining open and safe shipping lanes is vital to our economy. In fact, our nation's seaports handle over 95 percent of our foreign trade, worth over $1 trillion a year. The ports to be handed over to the U.A.E. are some of this nation's largest and most strategically important. The port in New York and New Jersey, for example, handled about 4.5 million container units in 2004, and the Miami port handled approximately 1 million container units.
Further, it is no wonder many Tennesseans are questioning the administration's decision to approve this deal, despite the president's assurances that our security will not be compromised.
After all, the administration claimed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when none existed. They assured us they had a plan to secure Iraq after Saddam was toppled when they did not. And they told us that prisoners were being treated humanely at Abu Ghraib when they were not.
Finally, as important as this issue is - and I believe it is critical - there is a broader and, in many ways, more troubling question that we must address. Just as important as who is running our ports is what is coming into our ports. On this front, I am concerned that we are dropping the ball.
More than 10 million containers are expected to enter United States ports this year, or more than 27,000 containers every day. Yet experts tell us that, at most, 5 percent of these containers will be inspected. That means 9.5 million containers will arrive on our shores without any government official knowing with any certainty what is inside.
However, we have the technology to scan containers for radiation or other harmful materials. Yet this technology is not being put to use. Of the six ports at issue in the U.A.E. transaction, for example, only one of them has a working radiation-detection system through which every container must pass.
Since 9/11, we have spent $20 billion on airline security, but only $700 million in federal grants on maritime security, in spite of the fact that the 9/11 Commission highlighted port security as an area of major concern.
It is hard for Tennesseans to accept that, after allocating a quarter of a trillion dollars to homeland security since 9/11 - let alone the more than $2 trillion we have spent on national defense - we do not have the means to defend ourselves as a nation. Yet that is exactly the concern many Tennesseans have as questions about our nation's ports come to light.
Tennesseans and all Americans deserve better than this.
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford is a Democrat from Memphis.
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