OUTSOURCING NATIONAL SECURITY?

Terrence Netto asked: what is a government that is supposed to keep Palestinian-oppressing Israel at arm's length doing consulting with a company with close ties to Tel Aviv?

PKR’s Saifuddin asked the government to reveal the success of Apco's performance under the previous contract and how its service was in any way beneficial to the voters.

I ask very simply: Are we OUTSOURCING OUR SECURITY to a foreign Agency?

Enough has been exposed about Israeli personnel walking the corridors of Bukit Aman and APCO having worked for some questionable banana republics.

Hardly had Russian President Medvedev got over his jetlag then the FBI revealed the existence of deep cover agents in New Jersey (HERE).

And, like we are not vulnerable, APCO is told to carry on despite…..

But as providence would have it OBE (Old Blue Eyes, the cute sinister one) asked me to sniff around the DUBAI PORT WORLD.

Here are extracts from Wikipedia:

The DP World controversy began in February 2006 and rose to prominence as a national security debate in the United States. At issue was the sale of port management businesses in six major U.S. seaports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and whether such a sale would compromise port security.

The controversy pertained to management contracts of six major United States ports. The purchaser was DP World (DPW), a state-owned company in the UAE. The contracts had already been foreign-owned, by Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), a British firm taken over by DPW (completed in March 2006). Although the sale was approved by the executive branch of the United States Government, various United States political figures argued that the takeover would compromise U.S. port security.

U.S. President George W. Bush argued vigorously for the approval of the deal, claiming that the delay sends the wrong message to U.S. allies. Legislation was introduced to the United States Congress to delay the sale.

In mid-October 2005, DP World approached the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to clear regulatory hurdles for a possible acquisition of the British firm P&O. The CFIUS is the multi-agency federal panel that passes judgment on deals with foreign corporations that raise antitrust or national security questions, Soon after, DPW began negotiating the terms of the takeover with P&O. They were advised by former President Bill Clinton to submit to a 45-day review of the acquisition.

In December 2005, Coast Guard intelligence officials raised the possibility of significant security risks associated with the management of some U.S. port operations by a Dubai company, stating in a report that broad intelligence gaps prevented them from assessing the risks.

In February 2006, the stockholders of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), a British firm, agreed to a sale of that company to DPW over a bid by PSA International of Singapore. As part of the sale, DPW would assume the leases of P&O to manage major U.S. port facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami, as well as operations in 16 other ports.

On February 24, 2006, it was reported[8] that there are 22 U.S. ports in the deal, not just the six major ports mentioned in initial news stories and reports. According to the website of P&O Ports, the port-operations subsidiary of P&O, DPW would take over stevedore services at 12 East Coast ports including Portland, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Davisville, Rhode Island; New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Camden, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; Baltimore, Maryland; and Virginia locations at Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.

Additionally, DPW will take over P&O stevedoring operations at nine ports along the Gulf of Mexico including the Texas ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Houston, Freeport, and Corpus Christi, plus the Louisiana ports of Lake Charles and New Orleans.

On March 8, 2006 the House Panel voted 62–2 to block the deal, and senator Charles Schumer added amendments to a senate bill to block the deal, causing an uproar in the senate.[10]

On March 9, 2006, Dubai Ports World released a statement saying they would turn over operation of U.S. ports to a U.S. "Entity". Later that same day, American Enterprise Institute scholar Norm Ornstein reported on PBS's "News Hour" that DP World was considering selling its U.S. operations to Halliburton.

Dubai Ports World eventually sold P&O's American operations to American International Group's asset management division, Global Investment Group for an undisclosed sum.

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Surprisingly Israel's largest shipping firm, Zim Integrated Shipping Services, came out in support of the deal.

"During our long association with DP World, we have not experienced a single security issue in these ports or in any of the terminals operated by DP World... We are proud to be associated with DP World and look forward to working with them into the future." Zim Integrated Shipping Services CEO, Idan Ofer, February 22 2006^.

The point I am trying to arrive at is this: Despite support from some top cats in the Aministration, this process went thru thorough tooth-comb scrutiny by all the agencies but particularly Democrats and Republicans closed ranks to ensure the security of the country.

Here one man makes the decision? No wonder, KD Tengku Abdul Rahman is DOCKED and probably awaiting service and maintenance from, what’s that company owned by Baginda’s wife?

If you are interested go HERE