All the various National security agencies have given this company a clean bill of health. This company MERELY does port operations, it has ZERO security functions. Security is a Federal Govt responsibility. The ONLY people freaking are the Democrat Senators. This works for them on two levels.
ONE it allows the Dems to fraudulently posture as "tough on National Security". Two, it allows the Senate Democrats to lay the ground work for a "Have the Feds take over the ports" like they did the baggage screener at the airport and add thousands to the Govt Union rolls.
Just DUMB for Conservatives to push Chucky Schumers phony PR line for him.
Let's think about this a bit.
Any company that "does port operations" is going to be working closely with those who provide the "security functions" _in_ those ports, whether they be federal agents or otherwise.
That means that the operating company is going to have much more of a "working knowledge" - perhaps quite intimate knowledge - of exactly what kind of security measures are in force, and how they are applied.
And if they have such knowledge, they will know where the "weak points" may be, and perhaps even know how security measures might be circumvented.
Over time, we could actually see Islamist "moles" work their way into the port operations, with the intent of aquiring such knowledge and a vector through which weapons might be smuggled into the United States.
I do not put this past them. Witness as to how the World Trade Center attackers operated "in plain sight" until it was time to strike.
I thought the Republicans (in general) and Bush (in particular) were supposed to be PROTECTING America from the possibilities of terrorism and attack. And they're turning over operations of the gateways of American commerce to Arabs? This is "security"?
Oh, sorry, of course it isn't. Taking your shoes off to get on an airplane *IS*.
- John