Washington, Mar 1 -

In a Congressional hearing today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13) blasted the Bush administration’s decision to allow Dubai Ports World, owned by the United Arab Emirates, to provide security and operations of six leading U.S. seaports. Congressman Scott sharply questioned Administration officials about how U.S. port security could be turned over to a country with ties to terrorism.

“I am very troubled about this deal,” Congressman Scott said. “It weakens our homeland security. If the Administration will not end this deal, then Congress should. The American people deserve better than this.”

The 9/11 Commission found that the UAE was a problem in combating terrorism. The country was one of three countries to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan. Further, the UAE acted as a transfer point for shipping illegal nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The UAE had also been a base for wire transfer money to the 9/11 hijackers. The UAE gave support to al Qaeda and 2 of the 9/11 hijackers flew planes into the twin towers in New York were from the UAE.

“We only inspect 5 percent of cargo at our ports,” Congressman Scott said. “We must take immediate action to screen 100% of the cargo that comes into U.S. ports. We must also ensure that American workers inspect all cargo at their foreign points of origin before they even arrive to our ports. These are important points that we must incorporate into our port security going forward.”

Scott went on to say that: “Hong Kong inspects 100% their cargo and they process 22 million containers per year. They are not even a terrorist target. The U.S. only inspects 5 % of our cargo and we handle only 12 million containers per year. If Hong Kong can check 100%, the surely we can, especially since we are a terrorist target.”