The Arabs are managing our ports...why not the Chinese checking for nukes?

[carrrnuttt]

Chinese Company Given No-Bid Contract to Detect Nuclear Materials Passing Into the United States

The Bush administration says it is finalizing a no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. It acknowledged the deal is the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present.

Hutchison Whampoa is the world's largest ports operator and among the industry's most-respected companies. It was an early adopter of U.S. anti-terror measures. But its billionaire chairman, Li Ka-Shing, also has substantial business ties to China's government that have raised U.S. concerns over the years.

"Li Ka-Shing is pretty close to a lot of senior leaders of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party," said Larry M. Wortzel, head of a U.S. government commission that studies China security and economic issues.

Three years ago, the Bush administration effectively blocked a Hutchison subsidiary from buying part of a bankrupt U.S. telecommunications company, Global Crossing Ltd., on national security grounds.

And a U.S. military intelligence report, once marked "secret," cited Hutchison in 1999 as a potential risk for smuggling arms and other prohibited materials into the United States from the Bahamas.

Stupid? Reckless? Conspiratorial? Any combination thereof?

You make the call.

[YogsVR4]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

You make the call.

Actually, the government in the Bahama's does.

Wilkes, the NNSA spokesman, said the Bahamian government dictated that the U.S. give the contract to Hutchison.

"It's their country, their port. The driver of the mobile carrier is the contractor selected by their government. We had no say or no choice," he said.

Yes, I am sure that if the US demanded something from them, they'd buckle under the presssure (and then we'd have people posting articles about the Bush administration pushing their weight around).

Considering the Chinese have been running the Panama canal for some time now, I'm not overly concerned with a Chinese company running a port in the Bahamas.

[BNaylor]

Didn't the article specify that Bahamian Customs officials would still supervise the operations. I don't see any problem but if that cargo is destined for the U.S. and arrives at one of our ports then it is fair game. It should be re-scanned or checked by our Homeland Security Customs. Regardless, I'd feel better if our Customs agents were actively involved in the Bahama operation.


"Supervised by Bahamian customs officials, Hutchison employees will drive the towering, truck-like radiation scanner that moves slowly over large cargo containers and scans them for radiation that might be emitted by plutonium or a radiological weapon."

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

Didn't the article specify that Bahamian Customs officials would still supervise the operations. I don't see any problem but if that cargo is destined for the U.S. and arrives at one of our ports then it is fair game. It should be re-scanned or checked by our Homeland Security Customs. Regardless, I'd feel better if our Customs agents were actively involved in the Bahama operation.


"Supervised by Bahamian customs officials, Hutchison employees will drive the towering, truck-like radiation scanner that moves slowly over large cargo containers and scans them for radiation that might be emitted by plutonium or a radiological weapon."

Thank you for getting it, especially considering that China, along with Russia, is openly supporting Iran's nuclear aspirations (and possibly enabling it), while openly protesting the US' nuclear sanctions.

Yogs talks about governmental pressure: was there an investigation on WHY the Bahamanians insisted on the deal? Pressure or money from China, perhaps?

I would like to know what happens to the inspected cargo after it departs the Bahamas and heads for our mainland.

[cody_e]

Thank God that fell through.