On the Question of our Ports

This morning’s Washington Post has a pretty good explanation of how port security works or is supposed to work:

What do the companies managing U.S. terminals — most of which are owned by Asian and European shipping giants — do that is so important to protecting against terrorist attacks? And how much difference would it make if Dubai Ports World joined their ranks?

Administration officials have asserted in recent days that security at U.S. ports is the responsibility of the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with the terminal operators responsible for little more than transferring containers from ships to railroad cars and trucks.

That overstates the role government agencies play. “They’ve been saying that customs and the Coast Guard are in charge of security; yes, they’re in charge, but they’re not usually present,” said Carl Bentzel, a former congressional aide who helped write the 2002 act regulating port security.

I have more questions than opinions about this latest fiasco, starting with:

• In a world of globalization, can you even have national security? After all, our ports, both naval and air, are currently being run by foreign companies. And apparently our security may depend heavily on some third-world port that considers a chain-link fence sufficient protection.
• Is Bush a victim of his own fearmongering here?
• How cheap the irony that our game of democracy dominos in the Middle East depends so heavily on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Ariabia?
• Are all these failures a result of incompetence or bad policy? Or both? See Kevin Drum on that one.
• Can a country with as many miles of borders and coast as ours actually ever be secure? What do we have to give up to achieve security?
• How cheap the irony that the party that celebrates Reagan for ordering Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” now sees the building of new walls not only in Israel but on our own border with Mexico? Is building a fortified embassy in Baghdad?

Which is not the same as saying we couldn’t be smarter about port and/or border security. If anybody was paying attention.