At first glance, I was appalled that Dubai hopes to run some berths at US ports. Then some news story reported something like 80% of US Ports are owned or run by foreign interests. That got me foaming at the mouth. In fact Dubai is trying to buy the control from Great Britain.
You would think after the Boston Tea Party and the blockade of our ports during the Revolutionary War, we would have learned our lesson.
The real problems lie at our feet. Firstly, US companies are hesitant or unwilling to buy and run the ports. Too much hassle with security, unions and labor groups, hazardous materials and working conditions. There is simply too much liability and not enough of a return to make the risk worthwhile.
So the alternatives are to either have the Government step in to run the ports (at our expense) or to allow foreign interests to run the ports for whatever profit they can squeeze out of them.
Personally I think running the ports for a profit is a better alternative than having some Government agency take over the ports. Especially if the ports end up being run anything like your local DMV.
So the REAL issue is security…and that my friends, IS our responsibility. There are groups and individuals all over the world who would seek to do us harm, they are in Dubai, England and within our own borders to name a few. It is our responsibility to do what we can to ensure port security, regardless of the nationality of those who run the ports.
It should be about safety, security, inspections and oversight. Not about democrats vs. republicans. If we allow this to become a finger pointing and political issue we’ll all lose.
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