One of our members from the Baltimore area who shall remain nameless (Beth knows who she is) sent me this story from their local TV news station:

State Lawmakers Outraged At "Reckless" Port Deal

By Mike Hellgren

(WJZ/AP) BALTIMORE WJZ Eyewitness News attended a news conference at the Port of Baltimore Saturday where several state lawmakers lashed out at the federal government after the approval of the sale of six major American ports, which included the Port of Baltimore, to a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates--a country that was believed to be a base for September 11 operations.

Baltimore Mayor O'Malley, who co-chairs the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Homeland Security, called on President Bush to reverse the decision "to surrender already vulnerable American port operations to a foreign government."

His demand doesn't refer just to the Port of Baltimore, but to all the ports sold under the deal.

"I am calling upon President Bush to reverse the outrageous, the reckless, and the irresponsible decision to turn over American ports to foreign governments," he said.

Senator Barbara Mikulski sent a letter on Thursday to Department of the Treasury Secretary John Snow requesting a full investigation into the UAE's acquisition of the ports.

"Our country's ports are vital to our national security, military capability, and economy. The Administration has a responsibility to ensure that foreign control over certain port operations is thoroughly scrutinized," she wrote. "The American public deserves no less."

A company at the Port of Miami has sued to block the takeover of shipping operations there by the UAE owned business. It is the first American courtroom effort to capsize the sale.

The Miami company, a subsidiary of Eller & Company Inc., presently is a business partner with London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which Dubai Ports World purchased last week. In a lawsuit in Florida circuit court, the Miami subsidiary said that under the sale it will become an "involuntary partner" with Dubai's government and it may seek more than $10 million in damages.

The Miami subsidiary, Continental Stevedoring & Terminals Inc., said the sale to Dubai was prohibited under its partnership agreement with the British firm and "may endanger the national security of the United States." It asked a judge to block the takeover and said it does not believe the company, Florida or the U.S. government can ensure Dubai Ports World's compliance with American security rules.

A spokesman for Peninsular and Oriental indicated the company had not yet seen the lawsuit and declined to comment immediately.

The lawsuit represents the earliest skirmish over lucrative contracts among the six major American ports where Peninsular and Oriental runs major commercial operations: New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. The lawsuit was filed moments before the court closed Friday and disclosed late Saturday by people working on the case.

The Port of Miami is among the nation's busiest. It is a hub for the nation's cruise ships, which carry more than 6 million passengers a year, and the seaport services more than 30 ocean carriers, which delivered more than 1 million cargo containers there last year.

A New Jersey lawmaker said Saturday he intends to require U.S. port security officials be American citizens, to prevent overseas companies operating domestic shipping facilities from hiring foreigners in such sensitive positions. Republican Frank A. LoBiondo, chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, cited "significant" security worries over the sale to Dubai Ports World.

Caught by surprise over the breadth of concerns expressed in the United States, Dubai is cautiously organizing its response. The company quietly dispatched advisers to reassure port officials along the East Coast, and its chief operating officer -- internationally respected American shipping executive Edward "Ted" H. Bilkey -- is expected to travel to Washington this week for meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

At the Port of Baltimore news conference, O'Malley said only 5 percent of the shipments into the nation's ports are inspected. He said that's a stark contrast to Hong Kong, which inspects 100 percent of shipments.

"I think that they did not take into account the vulnerability of America's ports," O'Malley said in a telephone interview. "I think Congress needs to have further hearings on these things."

The mayor said he will be working to rally opposition against the deal with the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors this month.

Representative Dutch Ruppersburger also voiced his outrage at the news conference.

"Can we as a country gamble by allowing another country to be in charge of our security?" he asked. "This is not Republican or Democrat. This is about the safety of our country."

Ruppersburger says he and other lawmakers will take as much action as they can to have the sale reversed.

"We're going to take this as far as we can because our national security is at stake," he said.

The deal also has sparked opposition on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., has said he will introduce legislation to prohibit companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from running port operations in the United States.

Under the deal, Dubai Ports World will buy London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

The British company is the world's fourth-largest ports company. It runs commercial operations at shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Dubai Ports World is owned by the United Arab Emirates.

The Bush administration has defended its decision, saying the sale was "rigorously reviewed" by a U.S. committee that considers security threats when foreign companies seek to buy or invest in American industry.

(Yeah...."rigorously reviewed" in secret -pl ) :rolleyes:

The Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States received an assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies. The committee's 12 members agreed unanimously the sale did not present any problems, the department said.

But critics have cited the UAE's history as an operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A representative of the United Arab Emirates defended his country under the sale, saying: "We have worked very closely with the United States on a number of issues related to the combat of terrorism, prior to and post September 11th."

But O'Malley feels the UAE brings a threat of the transportation of nuclear warfare.

"They (the UAE) are a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, to North Korea, to Libya," he said.

The Homeland Security Department has said it was legally impossible under the committee's rules to reconsider its approval without evidence that DP World gave false information or withheld vital details from U.S. officials. The 30-day window for the committee to voice objections has ended, the department said.

What a convenient coincidence that none of this was made public prior to the ending of the 30-day period -pl

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