Ports security law flawed, Bush says
By Jim Abrams
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The specter of a nuclear bomb, hidden in a cargo container, detonating in an American port has prompted Congress to require screening of all U.S.-bound ships at their more than 600 foreign starting points.
The White House and shippers maintain that the technology for scanning 11 million containers each year doesn't exist, and say the requirement could disrupt trade. Current procedures, including inspections of manifests at foreign ports and radiation monitoring in U.S. ports are working well, they contend.
Nonetheless, President Bush earlier this month signed the measure into law, praising its shift of funds to states and cities at higher risk of terrorism attack and saying he will work with lawmakers to ensure the cargo screening provisions don't impede commerce.
Scanning containers at their point of origin in other countries is a highlight of that law, intended to fulfill recommendations of the 9/11 Commission for safeguarding the United States from terrorist attack. It sets a five-year deadline for having the system in place but — recognizing the technology might not be ready — gives the Homeland Security secretary the authority to extend that deadline by two-year increments.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a chief proponent, said the costs and complexity involved in the new system pale beside the devastating effect of a nuclear attack launched from a big city port. "The truth is, we cannot afford not to do it."
The White House issued a statement opposing the scanning requirement, saying it was "neither executable nor feasible." Opponents warned that it could cause huge backlogs at the nation's seaports, which handle some 95 percent of goods coming into the country.
Industry groups that lobbied against the screening requirement asked whether Congress intends to cut off trade with small-volume ports that can't install the needed technology. They also warn of foreign governments retaliating by requiring U.S. ports to set up the same inspection regimen.
"You have to have the permission of all these foreign points," said James Carafano, a defense expert at the Heritage Foundation. "There are a lot of people around the world who are going to be really teed off about this."
The Bush administration argues that its approach to port security is a success. That approach has several main components:
The program should give some indication of the practicality of the 9/11 Act provision, which requires containers to undergo both a radiation check and a scan with imaging such as X-rays that might locate enriched uranium or other materials that don't emit a lot of radiation.
