Chertoff: Ports Would’ve Been More Secure Under Dubai

On Thursday, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York that the six major U.S. ports at issue in the controversial Dubai deal would’ve been more secure under Dubai Ports World than the U.S. entity that will now take over operations, Reuters reports.

Dubai Ports World is owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, and security concerns regarding the shift of control over a number of major U.S. ports from United Kingdom-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam and Navigation Co. to Dubai Ports World sparked a political firestorm that led the company to announce a U.S. entity would be taking over management of the U.S. ports. For more, read Senator: U.S. ‘Entity’ Will Manage DP World’s Port Operations.

Chertoff downplayed the concerns all along, and on Thursday he said the media frenzy and paranoia were detrimental to the security at those U.S. ports, according to Reuters.

“The irony of this is, that had the deal gone forward, we would have had greater ability to impose a security regime worldwide on the company than we have now,” Chertoff said, according to Reuters.

The Homeland Security chief did not give specific details on what that regime would entail, Reuters reports.

Chertoff even went as far as saying that similar protest in the future could decay the U.S. economy and would not preserve national security, according to Reuters.

“It’s clear to me from a public messaging standpoint, we dropped the ball,” Chertoff said, according to Reuters. “It may be that it was a classic case of people who knew the facts weren’t paying enough attention to the perception of the facts.”

For related coverage from CSO’s sister publication, CIO, read Customs Rattles the Supply Chain.

For related news coverage, read Dubai Deal Complete, U.S. Ports Held Separately.

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