First off, I don't have the exact fiscal figures for a contract of this magnitude, but it has to be enormous. And forgive me for "profiling", but if there's one thing that we've learned from the Iraqi reconstruction, it's that Arabs love business...the areas in Iraq that have had the least violence and the best successes have been the ones where there has been enough money and contracts to go around and keep people working. I predict that the Dubai Ports World officers will bend over backwards to keep our government happy and satisfied with the state of operations.
Second, I'm pretty positive that port security itself is actually contracted out to companies like my parent company, L3 Communications, and other major contractors. The Coast Guard and local law enforcement also are involved with port security. It's not as if we're just handing the keys to the ports over to Dubai Ports World and telling them "Lock up when you're finished, OK?"
The ports are not OWNED by a foreign government. Port operations are being administered by a state-run corporation. There are differences.
