Posted 10:58 AM by steve

A number of conservative bloggers Ankle Biting Pundits and Michelle Malkin, among others, are taking up the call to keep an Arab-owned company - on issues relating to national security - from taking over operations at six major American ports.

On principle, I disagree.

Remember that the Bush Administration is responsible for setting and enforcing port security standards, not the shipyard operators. It is the Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for inspecting what comes into this country via boat. They are the ones responsible for ensuring that port inspectors and dockworkers are not security risks. If the Bush Administration were doing its job, it ought not to matter who 'owned' the port.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration is not doing its job. As the New York Post reports, "security in the ports remains unacceptably lax". Inspectors catch but a fraction of the drugs coming into the country. They probably let more counterfeit goods into the country than they are able to catch. The ports are an entry point for significant numbers of illegal aliens coming into the United States.

I'd dare say the only reason we haven't been hit yet with weapons smuggled in via ship is because the terrorists haven't bothered to do so. I am under no illusion that they've got a dirty bomb sitting in a room somewhere in Pakistan but are holding off smuggling it into Newark because they fear they'll be caught (note the 9/11 hijackers sure weren't too afraid that they would be caught trying to get on the planes, were they?).

Would port security be worse with 'Arab' control of the yards? Me thinks not. Control of the shipyards are in 'friendly' hands now and what do we have to show for it. And as much as it pains me to write this, far too many Americans and American companies have shown that they are more interested in chasing dollars than obeying the law (think Clinton and sales of military technology to China).

So I think Michelle and the others are sadly mistaken if they think keeping ownership and control of the ports in 'friendly hands' will really matter.

Better they direct their anger at the Bush Administration for not doing the job they are supposed to be doing...

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