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New Jersey Jewish News Story
State officials rally resistance to ports takeover
by James Besser
and Marilyn Silverstein
New Jersey’s congressional delegation joined a bipartisan group of colleagues from around the country in condemning the Bush administration’s approval of an arrangement that will put six major seaports under the control of a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates — a nation seen as a money conduit and haven for terrorists.
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Dist. 9) termed the outsourcing of port security “an outrage. The United States — not the United Arab Emirates — should be responsible for the safety of Americans, and I strongly support legislation to keep port security contracts in the hands of U.S. companies.”
Others challenged the UAE’s status as an ally in the war on terrorism.
“Dubai has allowed terrorists to pass freely through their own country,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) this week. “Why in the world should we let this rogue government control ports in the United States? The administration must conduct a serious investigation before any deal is signed.”
Several national Jewish groups said they were studying the issue; however, none had spoken out as of press time on Tuesday.
The issue erupted this week when lawmakers learned that the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the world’s fourth-largest port operator, had been bought by Dubai Ports World, a government-owned company in the UAE. Peninsular currently provides port management in six U.S. cites — including Port Newark (Elizabeth) and New York City.
Without public comment, the administration, through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, cleared the deal, touching off an avalanche of protests on Capitol Hill.
A bipartisan group of outraged legislators, in a letter to President George W. Bush, said that the UAE “has been named as a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components that were shipped to Iran, North Korea, and Libya” and said the country was one of only three to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
The lawmakers also accused the UAE of being a haven for Al Qaida activists.
Sen. Robert Menendez (R-NJ) said that if the administration doesn’t act to reverse the port arrangement, Congress will. “The administration’s response to questions about this deal has been that we should simply trust them,” Menendez said at a news conference. “But we cannot simply trust them because critical questions remain unanswered. We cannot rely on promises a foreign government has made in secret to secure our ports.”
Two-pronged push
On Tuesday, Gov. Jon Corzine announced that the state of New Jersey will mount a two-pronged push against the ports deal, filing suits in both state and federal court to challenge the Bush administration’s move.
“I have profound concerns about this merger transaction,” Corzine said during an afternoon press conference at the State House in Trenton. “There is a deep, deep feeling that this is the wrong direction for our nation. The reaction we take in court will be firm and strong.”
Corzine said he has directed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to declare a default on the lease and to file a suit in Superior Court in Essex County seeking to enjoin the sale of the lease from being consummated. At the same time, he has directed Attorney General Zulima Barber to file a suit in federal court in Newark to obtain complete information about the sale.
In addition to Barber, Corzine was joined at the press conference by Menendez, who, together with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), recently announced that he would introduce legislation to ban companies owned by foreign governments from controlling operations at U.S. ports; Speaker of the General Assembly Joseph Roberts of Brooklawn (D-Dist. 5); Anthony Coscia, chair of the Port Authority; and Stuart Rabner, the governor’s counsel.
Corzine noted that the two miles between the port and the airport in Newark are “probably the most dangerous in the United States.”
“Nothing is more important than protecting the people we serve,” the governor said. “Adding risk to this area is just incomprehensible to those of us concerned with the safety and security of our community.”
With only 5 percent of shipping containers currently being inspected, it is too great a risk to leave the security of the ports in the hands of those who have already shown themselves to be weak on security, according to Corzine. He noted that two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE, and that the UAE has supported the Taliban government in Afghanistan and has allowed nuclear materials to be transported through its territory on the way to rogue nations.
“It is a grave risk,” he said. “This is a serious issue, and the people of New Jersey should expect a serious, thoughtful response.”
Menendez thanked the governor for his “decisive action on behalf of the State of New Jersey.”
“This is a bipartisan issue, in which the [Bush] administration is engaging in pre-Sept. 11 thinking,” the senator charged. “Our concern is very legitimate. To have a foreign government operating the port or parts thereof is not, in my mind, in the security interests of the people of New Jersey or the United States.
“In terms of a security risk, it’s just way too much,” he said. “To not understand that port operations can also be a significant weapon against our people is to think inside the box, not outside the box.”
Roberts expressed the wholehearted support of the General Assembly for the governor’s actions. “This proposed deal has struck a raw nerve in New Jersey,” the speaker said. “The proposed sale of our port operations is an issue of both national security and common sense. It’s important that the state speak with one voice on this issue.”
State Senate President Richard Codey added his own voice to that consensus in a press release on Tuesday. “Approving the sale of some of our country’s largest port operations to a foreign company is like playing Russian roulette with homeland security.… Our region serves as a key financial and transportation hub for the world and also a key target for global terrorism,” Codey stated. “New Jersey and its neighbors have been fighting an uphill battle to get the federal government to devote more resources to protecting our region. The Bush administration’s latest actions are a sign that they are actually committed to doing less.”
Commenting on the issue, Lori Price Abrams, director of the Community Relations Committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, noted that the CRC has long been concerned with the safety of the state’s ports and in January sponsored a presentation on local security precautions with experts from the NJ State Police.
“We have significant interest and concerns around homeland security,” she said. “It is wise at this point to be questioning foreign ownership at this time, when we are trying to protect the integrity of our own institutions. There should be some serious scrutiny before allowing a foreign government to play this kind of role.”
But on Tuesday, President Bush said he would not block the deal.
“After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward,” he said. “I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company.”
James D. Besser is NJJN Washington correspondent.
Marilyn Silverstein is NJJN bureau chief/Princeton Mercer Bucks.
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