Protecting The Ports May One Job Too Many For Overtaxed Coast Guard

Over and over again, the justification being given by our government for using an Arab based port management organization, rests on one fact; that is that we do not have to worry because the Coast Guard is on the job of watching our ports. In effect, under the prevailing argument, the Coast Guard will bear most of the responsibility for security at all of the ports. . But in the recent work-ups by Homeland Security, it was discovered that the Coast Guard was not up to the task; not because it didn't have the will but because it was currently overloaded with its regular assignments and seriously underfunded for the investment in time and effort involved in patrolling and inspecting ports. Moreover, the Coast Guard has no technological ability that would facilitate the inspection of containers which seem to pose one of the major venues for introducing explosives to US Ports.

Therefore, before giving the green light to such a venture that has such tenuous support from an overworked, underfunded Coast Guard, may I suggest that each seriously concerned person read Stephen Flynn's book, "Rogue Wave."

Stephen Flynn, a retired Coast Guard officer tells in his book "Rogue Wave" tells about how the government has failed in its commitment to the Coast Guard and on the watch of Bush, it is underfunded and under staffed to do the tasks assigned to it. Here's one review from Amazon:
Over and over again, the justification being given by our government for using an Arab based port management organization, rests on one fact; that is that we do not have to worry because the Coast Guard is on the job of watching our ports. In effect, under the prevailing argument, the Coast Guard will bear most of the responsibility for security at all of the ports. . But in the recent work-ups by Homeland Security, it was discovered that the Coast Guard was not up to the task; not because it didn't have the will but because it was currently overloaded with its regular assignments and seriously underfunded for the investment in time and effort involved in patrolling and inspecting ports. Moreover, the Coast Guard has no technological ability that would facilitate the inspection of containers which seem to pose one of the major venues for introducing explosives to US Ports.

Therefore, before giving the green light to such a venture that has such tenuous support from an overworked, underfunded Coast Guard, may I suggest that each seriously concerned person read Stephen Flynn's book, "Rogue Wave."

Stephen Flynn, a retired Coast Guard officer in his book "Rogue Wave" tells about how the government has failed in its commitment to the Coast Guard and Bush's watch; it describes how the US Coast Guard is underfunded and understaffed to do the tasks assigned to it. See Amazon for several reviews of the book.

Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon