Congress Moves to Block Dubai Port Deal

MADELEINE BRAND, host:

From the Studios of NPR West, this is DAY TO DAY. I'm Madeleine Brand.

ALEX CHADWICK, host:

And I'm Alex Chadwick. Coming up, the latest on bird flu around the world.

BRAND: First the lead. The controversial port deal and the growing storm of political objection to it. Last week, the Bush Administration approved a deal for a company in the United Arab Emirates to operate a half dozen major East Coast ports. Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist now says he's joining opponents who are trying to block the agreement.

CHADWICK: The Arab company is actually buying a British firm. That's what the administration has approved. But critics say putting port security under control of a foreign power would be dangerous. Several Democratic Senators already say they plan to ban any such deal and I spoke earlier with one of them, Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey.

Senator ROBERT MENENDEZ (Democrat, New Jersey): Our legislation would stand for the principle that the ports of the United States should not be operated by a foreign government. We believe that this is critical infrastructure that already has enormous security challenges because 95 percent of the cargo that comes into the port goes uninspected. Only five percent does. One out of every 20 containers get inspected. And the reality is that if you add to that security challenge, the foreign operation of ports, it just seems to me that you enhance the risk even greater.

CHADWICK: Isn't this contract already operated by a foreign company, a British company? It just happens that a company based in the United Arab Emirates is trying to acquire this British company.

Senator MENENDEZ: The difference is, is that the company that seeks to acquire the British company is owned by the government of Dubai, which is much different than a private company. When a government owns a corporate entity, it directs that corporate entity. And the reality is the United Arab Emirates has a troubling history. Two of the September 11th hijackers came from the United Arab Emirate. The 9/11 Commission Report cited that as being a financial base for al-Qaeda. And probably in the context of this issue that we are speaking about right now about port operations, one of the most troubling facts is that the United Arab Emirates was a transfer point for smuggled nuclear components sent by Pakistani scientists A.Q. Khan to Iran, Libya, North Korea.

So if they couldn't produce the security in their own country to stop the transiting of such nuclear components, why in God's name would we give them the operation of the ports?

CHADWICK: As you say Senator, we inspect a very small portion of the goods and cargo that come through ports anyway. It's difficult to imagine that the basic ownership of the port is going to make that much difference.

Senator MENENDEZ: Well, if you understand terminal operations, and I have represented the Port of Elizabeth in Newark, which is the port of New York, for the last 13 years, in my previous role as a member of the House of Representatives it presided in my congressional district, you understand where a terminal operator, in fact, can have a significant impact on security.

CHADWICK: How is that, Senator?

Senator MENENDEZ: It's not only that we don't inspect cargo but how that cargo ultimately is manifested, how that cargo is ultimately unloaded on the, what's the circumstances. So there are many elements that simply go beyond the reality of saying, well, we don't already inspect 95 percent, so what greater risk is there. There is a very significant risk when you have a port operator from a foreign government and just a risk that doesn't make any sense.

CHADWICK: Well March 2nd, that's not very far away for a deadline. What are you going to do?

Senator MENENDEZ: We're certainly hoping that the people of United States are outraged by this. Will express their outrage both to their elected representatives and to the White House itself. The President has the power to cease and desist in this agreement. And he has the power to at least freeze it. And he also has the power to end it. And we call upon him to do so. In the absence of that, we will immediately take up this legislation and put it on his desk, so that he understands the will of the Congress, and hopefully reconsiders.

CHADWICK: Robert Menendez is Democratic Senator from New Jersey. Senator thank you for joining us on DAY TO DAY.

Senator MENENDEZ: Thank you.

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