[lit-ideas] Taking Security Seriously

While our warmongers huff and puff, there are, fortunately, people
doing more serious thinking about what national and global security
really require. Here is an example, summarized in a piece I wrote for
bestoftheblogs.com

============

Port Security A-B-Cs

In the midst of the the political flame war concerning port security,
Mother Jones picks up a Baltimore Sun article by P.J. Crowlley that
sheds cool light on a complex question.

The Issue
"Our economy, and therefore our security, depends on the free and
secure flow of goods to and from our shores. About 90 percent of the
manufactured goods we import arrive by sea. About 9 million shipping
containers each year flow through 361 U.S. ports. Baltimore, for
example, is the 14th-largest port in the United States in terms of
tonnage and seventh in cargo value."

"Any interruption in the global movement of goods, whether because of
terrorism, a storm or a dockworker strike, can instantly cause
billions in economic losses. If a nuclear or radiological device were
smuggled into the United States through one of these shipping
containers, it could shut down the world economy."


The Answer
"First, the Department of Homeland Security needs to make port
security its top priority. Since 9/11, DHS has devoted three times as
much to aviation security as maritime security. This is like fighting
the last war.

"The Coast Guard estimates that $5.4 billion is required to implement
port security improvements called for in the Maritime Transportation
Security Act. Yet Congress appropriated only $175 million in port
security grants this year. Congress should triple that.

"Second, customs agents physically inspect only 6 percent of the 9
million shipping containers that flow through U.S. ports annually.
Every suspect shipment should be scanned using the best available
radiation detection equipment. Every U.S. port should be required to
have radiation isotope identifier devices to reduce the chances that a
nuclear or radiological device can be smuggled into the U.S.

"Third, DHS should expand the number of personnel assigned overseas
(with language skills) to work at foreign ports, inspect more shipping
containers before they are loaded on ships destined for the United
States and verify the security of foreign supply chains. Smart
containers with tamper-proof seals and global positioning systems
should be introduced as soon as possible."


Now, get on the phone and ask your representatives in Congress why
three times as much is spent on airline security as on port security.
Press a little and see what they say.

--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd.
55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku
Yokohama 220-0006, JAPAN
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