UAE Port Controversy

John Kerry in 2004 said many times that we need better security in our ports. The reasons are obvious; if terrorists ever get hold of serious weapons of mass destruction, particularly a nuclear device, the most likely point of entry would be through our ports. The Bush Administration seems determined to do the opposite of whatever Kerry recommends to the detriment of our nation. The ports involved have been controlled by a British corporation and the British are our closest allies but the fact of the matter is that given the instability of the world at the moment, no nation should have control over parts of our nation that involve the security and safety of the United States. There's no question that we need better international relations, but there are some jobs that should not be outsourced.

Think Progress has a number of related stories here, here and here. Not only did Bush not know what was going on, apparently Rumsfeld didn't know either:

In a press briefing today, Secretary Rumsfeld revealed that he was not consulted about the decision to transfer operations of six key U.S. ports to the United Arab Emirates, a country with troubling ties to international terrorism.

QUESTION: Are you confident that any problems with security — from what you know, are you confident that any problems with security would not be greater with a UAE company running this than an American company?

RUMSFELD: I am reluctant to make judgments based on the minimal amount of information I have because I just heard about this over the weekend.

Rumsfeld’s statement was particularly troubling because Dubai Ports World, owned and operated by the UAE government, will also take over a major contract managing the movement of military equipment for the U.S. Army.

Apparently Bush didn't know about the deal but he's defending it to the hilt. And Rumsfeld says he wasn't consulted. The gang that can't shoot straight is at it again. So who did authorize the deal? My bet is on the guy who has overextended his stay in Washington: Dick Cheney.