Did you know that in October an al-Qaeda suspect was discovered hiding inside a Canada-bound container at an Italian port?

The container had arrived from Egypt.  Police found a man equipped with a laptop computer, a mobile telephone, a bed and enough food and water for the long sea voyage to Halifax.  Airport plans, security passes and an aircraft mechanic's certificate were among his possessions.

The idea of a seagoing cargo container used as a terrorist Trojan horse predates September 11th.  A Department of Transportation study in August 2000 gave warning that terrorists could smuggle in nuclear-bomb components in a container. The same scenario was painted in 1996 in a war game called Wild Atom, organized by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Now the British company that operates the Port of New York, and other ports, has been acquired by Dubai Ports World, based in the United Arab Emirates.  U.S. lawmakers said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. They also said the UAE was one of three countries to recognize the now-toppled Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government.  Go figure! 

Lawmakers asked the White House to reconsider its earlier approval of the deal, but the Bush Regime said it was not negotiable.  The Bush administration on Thursday rebuffed criticism about potential security risks of a $6.8 billion sale that gives a company owned by the United Arab Emirates control over significant operations at six major American ports, including New Orleans.

What's the world coming to if you can't trust your neighborly Emir?  How do they say Dubya in Dubai?