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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (18326)	3/1/2006 1:57:54 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Chuck's Power Grab, Pt. 2 NEW YORK POST Editorial March 1, 2006 Sen. Charles Schumer, ever the Democratic battering ram against President Bush, is beside himself with glee: He's convinced he's found a good reason to scuttle the Dubai ports deal. Problem is, the very agency that Schumer cites as raising questions about the deal says its initial doubts were successfully resolved. But that isn't stopping Schumer: Yesterday, he released a letter demanding to know why those concerns were ignored. Even though, again, the agency says its concerns were fully addressed. Monday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee made public an early U.S. Coast Guard assessment of the Dubai Ports World proposal that cited "intelligence gaps" that made a full security analysis impossible. That's all New York's senior senator needed to hear. "If this isn't a smoking gun," he told The Post, "it shows that there may be one undetected by the government." Unless it shows something else. Which is what the Coast Guard says it does. In fact, Adm. Thomas Gilmour, the assistant commandant for marine safety and security, told a congressional briefing that the report which was publicly released is just one small part of the full analysis — which, understandably, remains classified. Indeed, the Coast Guard said in a statement, there was a "broader . . . analysis that was performed early on as part of its due-diligence process." And that analysis, says the Coast Guard, "concludes that 'DP' World's acquisition . . . in and of itself does not pose a significant threat to U.S. assets in ports." Moreover, added Adm. Gilmour, "any concerns we had were addressed." That looks like a dagger at the heart of Schumer's argument, right? Unless the senator knows more than what the Coast Guard is willing to say — but, if so, he needs to get that information on the record. If not, he needs to dummy up. Schumer can be reckless, but he's usually good on national security — relative to, say, Teddy Kennedy and Barbara Boxer. Now his head seems to have been turned by his political goals — electing more Kennedys and Boxers to the Senate. But what price the Senate? Schumer needs to examine his conscience. nypost.com