Dubya and Dubai Need to Wake Up

by
Larry C Johnson (bio below)

If Dubai Ports World (DPW) does as nifty a job of running our ports as it has done
running the freeport in Dubai then we are screwed. This is not about the fact that
police and security officials from the United Arab Emirates have been helping us
track down Al Qaeda operatives and other ornery jihadists. The issue here is the
fact that the port in Dubai is one of the major ports in the world involved with
smuggling of counterfeit and contraband product. A few years ago, for example, I
was alerted to a shipment of several containers of cigarettes from Panama’s port
of Colon to Dubai. The addressee on the invoice? Al Rabea Spare Car Parts. Now,
last time I checked, cigarettes are not and never have been an automobile spare
car part.

Other items, including consumer electronics, liquor, HP print cartridges, make their
way to Dubai and are then smuggled into tough areas like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
and Pakistan. And what is Dubai Ports World doing to crackdown on this activity?
Nothing.

Continued below:

The inability or refusal to deal with the use of ports under the control of Dubai
Ports World that are involved with smuggling is reason enough to stop this deal
dead in its tracks. The owners of DPW are not the ones cooperating closely with
the United States in tracking down the terrorists who attacked us. Instead, they
have close ties to a host of shipping companies, including those owned by the Bin
Laden family.

The challenge of smuggling a dirty nuke is comparable to smuggling containers of
cigarettes, liquor, and shoes. If DPW will not stop the latter how can we be confident
they will prevent the former? That’s a security bet we should not take or make.

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Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm that helps corporations and governments manage threats posed by terrorism and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism (as a Deputy Director), is a recognized expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk management. Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio, ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and aviation security around the world. Further bio details.