Portly Insecure

Maybe it isn't the best idea to put a company owned by the United Arab Emirates in control of operations at major American ports in major American cities. You know, when we're currently involved in a war with some Arab nations. Luckily, we have spin doctors hard at work, trying to tell Americans that concens over terrorism equal racism against Arabs. It's good spin.

Potential terrorist ties of Dubai aside, I think the skirmish over US-Arab relations obscures the real problem here:

OUTSOURCING.

Okay, so in this instance it's Dubai, which causes some alarm. Maybe the concern is overstated, but it still raises concern. As it should. Today's allies are tomorrow's enemies. No foreign company should ever be in charge of anything that involves the security of America. Under ANY circumstances.

I'm opposed to having an Arab company secure our ports the same as I'm opposed to a British company running our ports the same as I'm opposed to having a Japanese or Australian or Canadian or German or any country that ISN'T the US controlling our ports. Any foreign company overseeing American security concerns me. Because US national security is only a primary concern for the US. For any other country, our security is just business. And our national security should never be "just business." We may have some problems, but I'm pretty sure that we, as Americans, can find enough qualified people to pull our own damn security and operate our own damn ports.

Just thinking out loud here, but don't we have, oh, I don't know, any AMERICAN companies that could do this job? Or, perhaps, like a standing Army or some sort of Fedrealized port security marshalls or maybe, what are they called, a National Guard or a Coast Guard or something that could oversee port operations? Just tossing out suggestions. I mean, a lot of tax-payer money is going toward the Department of Homeland Security; it can't ALL be going toward secret domestic spy programs...can it?

All I know is, Americans could use jobs. And our ports could use managing and securing. I'm thinking that finding Americans jobs managing and securing American ports might be a way to solve such problems.

Because outsourcing our national security is a terrible solution. No matter how you spin it.

What we need is a true American hero to guarantee safety and security for America's ports.

And I know just the patriotic law enforcement official for this tough job...