The Daily Background

Oh man this is such a deja vu. Except in some ways, this is even worse! The Dubai deal wasn’t strictly to contract out the security– but this one is. The Administration has awarded a no-bid contract to a private company based in Hong Kong this time. Associated Press:

In the aftermath of the Dubai ports dispute, the Bush administration is hiring a Hong Kong conglomerate to help detect nuclear materials inside cargo passing through the Bahamas to the United States and elsewhere.

The administration acknowledges the no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. represents the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a sophisticated U.S. radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present.

I have to say, it’d be quite sweet if some Democratic Congressmen were able to shame the Republican Congressmen into blocking the deal, in order to prove that they had no double standard when it came to an Arab-owned company. Full article.

Filed under: Port Security, Z-TDB Blog