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Former CIA Officer: Dubai Ports Not So Secure Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com WASHINGTON -- Political observers say that when two Republicans - a liberal, New England senator and a conservative, Pacific Coast congressman - come together to oppose a White House plan, the president had better take notice.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is known as one of the most liberal members of the GOP in Congress. She also serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is known as a strong conservative and national security proponent. While Collins and Duncan are often at odds on issues, they are united in their opposition to a proposal that would allow Dubai Ports World (DPW) - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the government of Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - to manage some operations at 14 U.S. ports. Hunter announced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit majority ownership of any U.S. "system or asset - physical or virtual - that is so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such system or asset would have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security, or public health and safety" by foreign governments or companies. The proposal would direct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to compile a "critical infrastructure" list of assets to be protected from foreign control. Story Continues Below
While the legislation would conceivably cover a much broader section of U.S. commerce, Hunter made it clear that his immediate intent is to block a White House-backed deal that would give DPW some measure of control over port operations in Miami and Tampa, Fla.; Beaumont, Galveston, Houston and Port Arthur, Texas; Baltimore; Camden, N.J.; Davisville, R.I.; New Orleans; Norfolk, Va.; Philadelphia; Portland, Maine and Wilmington, Del. Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness (CMR), said Tuesday that the political differences between Hunter and Collins lend credibility to their opposition to the DPW plan and prove that it is not ideologically driven. "The base is being fractured here. Whether it's the more liberal Republicans who would back Susan Collins, or the more conservative ones who respect Duncan Hunter a great deal, this is serious," Donnelly said. "When people of that caliber on both sides of the president's own party start raising questions, the president needs to pay attention." Donnelly said she has not worked with Collins, who often disagrees with CMR on military issues, but she is familiar with Hunter and believes his opposition to the DPW deal is sincere. "He must have good reasons and he may have reasons we don't even know about for doing what he's doing," Donnelly said. "He's known for doing his own investigations and he may be doing that now." Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer who now heads the Business Exposure Reduction Group (BERG), believes he knows what could be motivating Hunter, Collins and other members of Congress to oppose the DPW deal. "There is current intelligence that individuals with ties to jihadist terrorist groups have sought refuge in Dubai/UAE, within the last three months," from countries that are considered sympathetic to terrorists, Johnson said. "They felt more secure going to the UAE." But President Bush has personally defended DPW, arguing that all security concerns have been addressed. "If there was any doubt in my mind or people in my administration's mind that our ports would be less secure and the American people endangered, this deal wouldn't go forward," Bush said Feb. 28. The president noted that DPW is purchasing a British company that currently holds the contracts to the port operations and that other U.S. ports have been managed by foreign-owned companies for years. "What kind of signal does it send throughout the world if it's okay for a British company to manage the ports," Bush asked, "but not a company that has been secure, been cleared for security purposes from the Arab world?" But Johnson challenged the president's assertion that DPW-run ports are secure. "When you look at three of the top world ports for smuggling, counterfeit and contraband activity, those are, by my count, Hong Kong, Dubai and Panama. Dubai Ports World controls two of the three" Johnson said, referring to Dubai and Hong Kong. "The White House is allowing commercial interests to trump any concern about security," Johnson said. "And I think Republicans like Collins and Hunter are smart enough to recognize that that's a non-starter." Johnson's company has been investigating port operations in Dubai on behalf of a client as part of a federal racketeering lawsuit. "One of the things we observed in the course of collecting evidence in that case was cigarette smuggling that started with cigarettes that would come out of Europe and the United States, go to Panama and then were shipped to ... ports in Dubai," Johnson said. "We also had evidence and saw direct evidence of other types of products being smuggled through Dubai, going into Pakistan through Afghanistan and going into Iran and going into Iraq." Among the "other types of products" allegedly smuggled through Dubai, Johnson listed the nuclear technology now in the hands of Iran. "If Dubai Ports World runs the smuggling operations or allows them or does not enforce any kinds of preventative measures in Dubai, just think what could happen in any of these other ports," he continued, "The techniques required to smuggle nuclear material or weapons are no different from those required to smuggle cigarettes or other less lethal, not as dangerous material." As an example, Johnson referenced a 1992 terrorist attack in which a smuggler was led to believe he was transporting contraband cash on a flight full of Jewish merchants. Unknown to the smuggler, he was, in fact, carrying a bomb, which Johnson said, "blew the plane out of the air." While President Bush has praised the governments of Dubai and the UAE for their cooperation in the war on terror, Johnson said Americans should listen carefully. "It would be one thing if the owners of Dubai Ports World were the same individuals in the United Arab Emirates who are cooperating with us in the efforts to combat terrorism, but they are not," Johnson said. "There are elements in the UAE government that are helping us and there are elements that are not helpful." Johnson believes many in Washington who tentatively support the president in the controversy could be converted into opponents if they would honestly ask themselves one question, which he calls "the gold standard." "Would Israel allow Dubai Ports World to run its ports at Haifa? If the answer is 'yes,' then we should say 'okay,'" Johnson said. "But, you know what? The answer is 'no.'"
Copyright, 2006 CNSNews.com. All Rights Reserved. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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