Monday, February 27, 2006
The Port Sale: Facts
I've been following the news on the sale of six "ports" to a firm from the United Arab Emirates pretty closely. My wife told me that her mother was getting pretty upset about it. I explained to my wife the facts, as I understood them, minus the spin. She suggested that I put that in an email to her folks.
I thought I would share the email here. The text follows.
Hey,
It's Kev. Amy asked me to write you all about this several days ago. She said that Tanya, in particular, was upset about it. I've been following this pretty closely, mainly, through the Rush Limbaugh Show. We are members in his website. I am one of Rush's "Adopted Soldiers". We have a free membership to his website. Part of the membership is that you can read all of Rush's source material that he uses to prepare for each show. This is my favorite part of the site.
I'm not going to reference any of that material here. I can, if you like, at a later time.
Let me first explain why Rush has an "Adopt a Soldier" program for his site (this will come to bear later in what I have to write). Rush's program is 3 hours long. It is carried on the Armed Forces Network, through their satellite TV service, but only for the first hour. And, like everything else on AFN, they do not carry any commercials, other than their own.
Back to the port deal.
There are some key questions that have to be answered to understand what is going on.
1. What is being sold?
2. Who is selling?
3. Who is buying?
4. Who, actually, has worked on those ports?
5. Who will work at those ports in the future?
6. What is the role of the US government in all of this?
7. Who has been, is and will be in charge of port security?
1. What is being sold?
The concession that is being sold is the management of the cargo container terminal at 6 US ports. One of those ports is in the New York City/New Jersey area. A franchise is being sold, if you will.
2. Who is selling?
The six cargo container terminals in question are currently under the management of a private (not national) British firm that specializes in port management. This "franchise" is not being sold by the US government. I do not know the name of the firm.
3. Who is buying?
A private (not national) firm from the United Arab Emirates, based in the capital city of Dubai, is buying the "franchise". They are the 4th largest firm of this type in the world. The British firm selling it is not in the top 3. Furthermore, this UAE firm controls the originating container terminals for, at least, 20% of all cargo containers coming into the United States.
The top 3 firms refused to put in bids for this concession. Scuttlebutt has it that they refused to deal with the hassles involved with unionized labor in the US. (See the next 2 questions.)
4. Who, actually, has worked on those ports?
The workers on the ground at each of these ports have been supplied by the United States' Longshoreman's Union, one of the member unions of the AFL-CIO.
5. Who will work at these ports in the future?
The same workers from the Longshoreman's Union.
6. What is the role of the US government in all of this?
The government is not buying or selling anything in all of this.
Because of the nature of the deal, and various Federal laws, an agency in the Federal government, I assume some part of the Commerce Department, has to sign off on the contract. Their role is to make sure that contract is in order, and that the cargo container terminal will continue to function normally.
7. Port security.
Thursday evening, I was in the kitchen, listening to Rush through the TV there on AFN. During one of the commercial breaks, they featured soundbites from General Pace.
General Pace is a 4-star Marine General, and he is the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The senior uniformed military official for the US.
He had been asked about this "port" sale, and port security.
I don't remember his exact verbage, but I do remember he sounded kind of confused. He wasn't confused about the issue or the fact that he was asked the question. It was more of the response that one would give to the question: "Do you walk to school or carry your lunch?"
His answer was that port security would continue to be handled by the people that had always handled it: the US Coast Guard.
Closing thoughts:
Thousands of cargo containers enter the US, daily. Only 5% of all cargo containers entering the US get checked for security purposes. The UAE firm controls the ports of origin for 20% of all cargo containers entering the US. If they really wanted to bomb us, whether with conventional bombs or WMD, wouldn't it make more sense to send in a bunch of containers from the ports of origin with bombs than spend 8 billion dollars to "buy" the ports?
What will this sale change?
Well, the sign outside of the main office at the cargo container terminals. The pictures on the wall of the big bosses, and the names on the checks, payroll and otherwise. Other than that, not much, if anything.
If the UAE is such a threat:
Why haven't we kept all cargo containers coming from the ports of origin that they control from entering the country? Why do airliners still fly from there to here? Why does the UAE airline still have permission to land at airports in the US?
Next to last, 2 of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE. At least, 15 of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Have we stopped doing any and all business with the Saudis? Do we not still buy their oil? Do they not endow chairs in several US universities? Do we not still have a sizeable contingent of Americans living and working on Saudi soil? If we draw the "9/11 line" for the UAE, now, when will we start drawing it for the Saudis? Osama bin Laden, himself, is a Saudi citizen. His family is about as close as you can get to the Saudi equivalent of the Kennedy's.
Finally, Osama bin Laden, and al Quaeda, attacked the World Trade Center twice (the bombing in 1993 was them, too). Did they attempt to buy it, first? Either time? No. So, assuming that this UAE firm wants to bomb the ports in question, why spend 8 billion dollars for the privilege when you can do it now without paying this British firm for the privilege?
Kev
P.S.
Talk about strange bedfellows. You want to know who are two of the most vocal proponents of this deal, as of Thursday? Rush Limbaugh and former President Jimmy Carter. Not exactly two guys that I would have thought of as taking an ideological stand, together. (grin) You might need to check Revelations. This might be one of the signs of the Apocalypse.
My father-in-law said that he was going to circulate my email to some people. He asked if I wanted my name and email included. He was concerned that some respondents might be less than friendly. I told him that I didn't mind, and I could handle it.
I will tell you how I, initially, planned to respond to those who couldn't stay civil in their dialogue in a bit.
The answer I gave my father-in-law was that maybe he should attach this to the email:
Staff Sergeant (SSG) Kevin Robertson is a 16-year veteran of the United States Army.
His awards and decorations include: the Meritorious Unit Medal, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal with silver clasp, National Defense Service Medal with star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer's Ribbon with numeral 2, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3, the Driver's Badge (wheeled), the Expert Marksmanship Badge (M-16), the Marksman Badge (grenade), and 2 Combat Service Stripes.
I forgot my 1st Infantry Division Combat patch.
His military training includes: the Basic Noncommissioned Officer's Course (Commandant's List (Honor Roll) graduate), the Primary Leadership course, the Basic course at the Armed Services School of Music, Basic Training, the NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Officer and Noncommissioned course, the Army Equal Opportunity Leader's Course, and certification as an instructor in basic Hand to Hand combat.
I forgot the training I received in close-quarters marksmanship while I was in Kuwait.
SSG Robertson has served at every level of command available to him, to include: squad leader, platoon sergeant, acting First Sergeant, and acting Commander. He has held staff postions in S-2 (security and intelligence), S-3 (Operations and Training), S-4 (Logistics), and S-5 (Public\Civil Affairs). His overseas tours include: Panama, Korea and Germany. He served with the 1st Infantry Division during their deployment to Iraq during 2004-2005.
I forgot to include that my daily duties in Iraq included dealing with security issues around and direct supervision of 30-50 Iraqi nationals working at the MWR facility where I served as the Assistant Noncommissioned Officer in Charge.
His current duties with the 1st Infantry Division Band include serving as the units S-2 (Security and Intelligence) supervisor, where he oversees physical security, force protection, clearances and classified material, and safety for the unit.
What I originally told my father-in-law was that if someone got nasty, I would play the "war vet/support the troops" card, and send them this picture: (It is a thumbnail. Click on the picture to see it full size.)
As for the resume, there is an old southern saying: "It aint braggin', if you done it."
I thought I would share the email here. The text follows.
Hey,
It's Kev. Amy asked me to write you all about this several days ago. She said that Tanya, in particular, was upset about it. I've been following this pretty closely, mainly, through the Rush Limbaugh Show. We are members in his website. I am one of Rush's "Adopted Soldiers". We have a free membership to his website. Part of the membership is that you can read all of Rush's source material that he uses to prepare for each show. This is my favorite part of the site.
I'm not going to reference any of that material here. I can, if you like, at a later time.
Let me first explain why Rush has an "Adopt a Soldier" program for his site (this will come to bear later in what I have to write). Rush's program is 3 hours long. It is carried on the Armed Forces Network, through their satellite TV service, but only for the first hour. And, like everything else on AFN, they do not carry any commercials, other than their own.
Back to the port deal.
There are some key questions that have to be answered to understand what is going on.
1. What is being sold?
2. Who is selling?
3. Who is buying?
4. Who, actually, has worked on those ports?
5. Who will work at those ports in the future?
6. What is the role of the US government in all of this?
7. Who has been, is and will be in charge of port security?
1. What is being sold?
The concession that is being sold is the management of the cargo container terminal at 6 US ports. One of those ports is in the New York City/New Jersey area. A franchise is being sold, if you will.
2. Who is selling?
The six cargo container terminals in question are currently under the management of a private (not national) British firm that specializes in port management. This "franchise" is not being sold by the US government. I do not know the name of the firm.
3. Who is buying?
A private (not national) firm from the United Arab Emirates, based in the capital city of Dubai, is buying the "franchise". They are the 4th largest firm of this type in the world. The British firm selling it is not in the top 3. Furthermore, this UAE firm controls the originating container terminals for, at least, 20% of all cargo containers coming into the United States.
The top 3 firms refused to put in bids for this concession. Scuttlebutt has it that they refused to deal with the hassles involved with unionized labor in the US. (See the next 2 questions.)
4. Who, actually, has worked on those ports?
The workers on the ground at each of these ports have been supplied by the United States' Longshoreman's Union, one of the member unions of the AFL-CIO.
5. Who will work at these ports in the future?
The same workers from the Longshoreman's Union.
6. What is the role of the US government in all of this?
The government is not buying or selling anything in all of this.
Because of the nature of the deal, and various Federal laws, an agency in the Federal government, I assume some part of the Commerce Department, has to sign off on the contract. Their role is to make sure that contract is in order, and that the cargo container terminal will continue to function normally.
7. Port security.
Thursday evening, I was in the kitchen, listening to Rush through the TV there on AFN. During one of the commercial breaks, they featured soundbites from General Pace.
General Pace is a 4-star Marine General, and he is the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The senior uniformed military official for the US.
He had been asked about this "port" sale, and port security.
I don't remember his exact verbage, but I do remember he sounded kind of confused. He wasn't confused about the issue or the fact that he was asked the question. It was more of the response that one would give to the question: "Do you walk to school or carry your lunch?"
His answer was that port security would continue to be handled by the people that had always handled it: the US Coast Guard.
Closing thoughts:
Thousands of cargo containers enter the US, daily. Only 5% of all cargo containers entering the US get checked for security purposes. The UAE firm controls the ports of origin for 20% of all cargo containers entering the US. If they really wanted to bomb us, whether with conventional bombs or WMD, wouldn't it make more sense to send in a bunch of containers from the ports of origin with bombs than spend 8 billion dollars to "buy" the ports?
What will this sale change?
Well, the sign outside of the main office at the cargo container terminals. The pictures on the wall of the big bosses, and the names on the checks, payroll and otherwise. Other than that, not much, if anything.
If the UAE is such a threat:
Why haven't we kept all cargo containers coming from the ports of origin that they control from entering the country? Why do airliners still fly from there to here? Why does the UAE airline still have permission to land at airports in the US?
Next to last, 2 of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE. At least, 15 of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Have we stopped doing any and all business with the Saudis? Do we not still buy their oil? Do they not endow chairs in several US universities? Do we not still have a sizeable contingent of Americans living and working on Saudi soil? If we draw the "9/11 line" for the UAE, now, when will we start drawing it for the Saudis? Osama bin Laden, himself, is a Saudi citizen. His family is about as close as you can get to the Saudi equivalent of the Kennedy's.
Finally, Osama bin Laden, and al Quaeda, attacked the World Trade Center twice (the bombing in 1993 was them, too). Did they attempt to buy it, first? Either time? No. So, assuming that this UAE firm wants to bomb the ports in question, why spend 8 billion dollars for the privilege when you can do it now without paying this British firm for the privilege?
Kev
P.S.
Talk about strange bedfellows. You want to know who are two of the most vocal proponents of this deal, as of Thursday? Rush Limbaugh and former President Jimmy Carter. Not exactly two guys that I would have thought of as taking an ideological stand, together. (grin) You might need to check Revelations. This might be one of the signs of the Apocalypse.
My father-in-law said that he was going to circulate my email to some people. He asked if I wanted my name and email included. He was concerned that some respondents might be less than friendly. I told him that I didn't mind, and I could handle it.
I will tell you how I, initially, planned to respond to those who couldn't stay civil in their dialogue in a bit.
The answer I gave my father-in-law was that maybe he should attach this to the email:
Staff Sergeant (SSG) Kevin Robertson is a 16-year veteran of the United States Army.
His awards and decorations include: the Meritorious Unit Medal, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal with silver clasp, National Defense Service Medal with star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer's Ribbon with numeral 2, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3, the Driver's Badge (wheeled), the Expert Marksmanship Badge (M-16), the Marksman Badge (grenade), and 2 Combat Service Stripes.
I forgot my 1st Infantry Division Combat patch.
His military training includes: the Basic Noncommissioned Officer's Course (Commandant's List (Honor Roll) graduate), the Primary Leadership course, the Basic course at the Armed Services School of Music, Basic Training, the NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Officer and Noncommissioned course, the Army Equal Opportunity Leader's Course, and certification as an instructor in basic Hand to Hand combat.
I forgot the training I received in close-quarters marksmanship while I was in Kuwait.
SSG Robertson has served at every level of command available to him, to include: squad leader, platoon sergeant, acting First Sergeant, and acting Commander. He has held staff postions in S-2 (security and intelligence), S-3 (Operations and Training), S-4 (Logistics), and S-5 (Public\Civil Affairs). His overseas tours include: Panama, Korea and Germany. He served with the 1st Infantry Division during their deployment to Iraq during 2004-2005.
I forgot to include that my daily duties in Iraq included dealing with security issues around and direct supervision of 30-50 Iraqi nationals working at the MWR facility where I served as the Assistant Noncommissioned Officer in Charge.
His current duties with the 1st Infantry Division Band include serving as the units S-2 (Security and Intelligence) supervisor, where he oversees physical security, force protection, clearances and classified material, and safety for the unit.
What I originally told my father-in-law was that if someone got nasty, I would play the "war vet/support the troops" card, and send them this picture: (It is a thumbnail. Click on the picture to see it full size.)
As for the resume, there is an old southern saying: "It aint braggin', if you done it."
