The Dubai port deal was approved by the secretive Committee for Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in meetings of second-level officials. That committee is under the wing of the Treasury department.  Treasury is similar to an international Chamber of Commerce insofar as its charter focuses on promoting trade, not on security considerations.
 
When concerns were raised, they were never flagged by those second echelon attendees for follow-up by superiors in the various branches of government represented on the committee. The committee, for its part, might have been unaware that the Coast Guard had concerns about gaps in intelligence that precluded proper assessment of the potential threat of terrorist operations through the Dubai company.
 
The apparent crony connections in this dubious Dubaiya debacle defy reason, if one is concerned for the welfare of our nation.  But this seems to be just the visible scab on the festering sore that is the advanced state of vulnerability and incapability of the United States in the conduct of independent maritime operations.
 
Little known facts are now surfacing.  And shock and awe are setting in.  It is reported that only one American company is in charge of operations at any of our seaports.  Most of our seaports are handled by foreign companies.  And it has come to light that the Dubai company is not the first foreign government owned operation.  A worst case arrangement seems to have snuggled right up to us with the blessings of our leadership.
 
It turns out that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a not insignificant hand in the operations of the Oakland, CA port.  That is said to be our busiest port, and a port in close proximity to many military installations and which is a major embarkation point for military logistics in support of overseas operations.
 
Now the PRC is a Communist Elephant in the Asian living room.  And it is growing fast economically and militarily.   Increasingly the experts are warning that the PRC is on a collision course with the United States over resources and influence in our own back yard. 
  
The Panama Canal was turned over to the Panamanian government on December 31, 1999. The Canal, a critical element in America’s trade and defense capabilities, remains a vital sea link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 percent of U.S. exports/imports pass through the Canal.  The alternative to travel between the two oceans is a costly and perilous journey around the tip of South America.
 
The PRC controls the Canal's Atlantic and Pacific Ocean ports of Balboa and Cristobal, and adjacent facilities.  The Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Company, with close ties to the People's Liberation Army [PLA], was granted a 25-year lease, with an additional 25-year option.
 
What’s going on here?  We the People need transparency in our government.  This Dubiaya Dubai disaster may be a blessing in disguise.  It is shining much needed light on whatever our leaders are up to, and We the People have to keep the light on and focused.