Too bad that fact was not in the news reports that Bush based his
approval on.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1668674
By LIZ SIDOTI
the Coast Guard raised concerns weeks ago that it could not determine
whether a United Arab Emirates-based company seeking a stake in some
U.S. port operations might support terrorist operations.
The disclosure came during a hearing Monday on Dubai-owned DP World's
plans to assume significant operations at six leading U.S. ports. It
also clouded whether the Bush administration's agreement to conduct an
unusual investigation into the pending takeover's security risks would
allay lawmakers' concerns.
The administration said the Coast Guard's concerns were raised during
its review of the deal, which it approved Jan. 17, and that all those
questions were resolved. London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam
Navigation Co. now handles the port operations.
"There are many intelligence gaps, concerning the potential for DPW or
P&O assets to support terrorist operations, that precludes an overall
threat assessment" of the potential merger, an unclassified Coast Guard
intelligence assessment said.
"The breadth of the intelligence gaps also infer potential unknown
threats against a large number of potential vulnerabilities," said the
half-page assessment. Officials said it was an unclassified excerpt from
a larger document.
In a statement, the Coast Guard said the concerns reflected in the
excerpt ultimately were addressed and that other U.S. intelligence
agencies answered the questions raised.
The Coast Guard assessment raised questions about the security of the
companies' operations, the backgrounds of people working for the
companies, and whether other foreign countries influenced operations
that affect security.
"We were never told about this and have no information about it,"
Michael Moore, DP World's senior vice president, said of the excerpt.
However, he said it shows "serious and probing" questions were asked and
that the initial approval of the deal indicates those questions were
answered.
Sen. Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security
Committee, released the excerpt at a briefing Monday. The Bush
administration agreed Sunday to DP World's request for a 45-day
investigation of the potential security risks related to the deal.
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