Carol Platt Liebau: Reconsideration is Needed

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Reconsideration is Needed

The White House is being urged to reconsider a sale that would give a company in the United Arab Emirates control over significant operations at six American ports.

Perhaps the deal is fine. But it doesn't sound fine, from what we know now. Americans like me are willing to fork over their tax dollars, and support doing what needs to be done to fight terror. The least we are entitled to is an explanation of why American ports are being surrendered to the control of a country that may consider itself a partner in the war on terror -- but which is also "an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan."

2 Comments:

Blogger COPioneer said...

Did they not sleep on it?

8:43 AM  
Blogger Bachbone said...

A couple of years ago, I took a tour of San Diego Harbor. The guide made a point of telling passengers how easily one cargo container holding a bomb or biological agent could devastatingly disrupt shipments of goods of every kind to the western half of the U.S., not to mention kill thousands. If a tour guide knows this, why don't some brilliant minds in Washington? And why doesn't the same concern apply to Atlantic ports shipping to the eastern half of the U.S.?

Obviously, there is some ulterior motive for this seemingly dunderheaded thinking. Common sense is a disappearing trait in our political class. Some enterprising researcher should get a government grant to search for a cure.

10:43 PM  

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