Ports would have been safer under Dubai: Chertoff

1 hour, 51 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. ports would have been safer with an Arab company running the terminals than they will be now that a political firestorm killed the deal, the chief of U.S. homeland security said on Thursday.

Dubai Ports World of United Arab Emirates was about to take over terminals at six major U.S. ports but decided earlier this month to transfer those operations to a U.S. entity after bipartisan opposition from the U.S. Congress.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff dismissed the security concerns raised by opponents of the deal all along and went a step further on Thursday in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"The irony of this is, that had the deal gone forward, we would have had greater ability to impose a security regime worldwide on the company than we have now," Chertoff said.

He did not explain the security measures.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060323/ts_nm/security_chertoff_dc

That really makes no sense.

That's quite an admission.

God, he makes my skin crawl.................

Sounds like Chertie has some insider knowledge of bad things likely to happen, doesn't it?

"security regime worldwide"? Did that give anyone else chills?

:scared: