45 Day Review Is Meaningless

Port Deal To Have Broader Review

The Bush administration said yesterday that it has accepted a proposal from a Dubai maritime company to conduct a 45-day review of the national security implications of the company's plans to take control of significant operations at six U.S. ports.

The announcement by Dubai Ports World, brokered by the White House and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), appears to satisfy the demands of many members of Congress, who had threatened to force a security review if the administration would not conduct one. The deal also offered pledges to reassure the United States that the ports deal would not pose any threats to American safety and security.

Smart move on the part of the Amir of Dubai. It won't matter to him is the 45 days cost him a few million. He has that to spare and then he will get a stamp of approval for controlling our ports... and making millions on the deal.

Again, my concern is that the line of bovine excrement that the current administration is handing us doesn't wash. The Coast Guard, Customs, and local security/law enforcement folks are not prepared to do the job that needs to be done. The fundamental problem is that security has to be done at the ports of origin and confirmed at the port of receipt. None of that is being done because we do not have the system in place to do it, or the personnel to do it.