<p>You have the Coast Guard and Customs but they didn’t get a whole lot of new bodies after Sept. 11 for port security. This wasn’t our biggest emphasis. There’s a lot that has been done to improve the situation because we started from virtually nothing before. It was almost a state of nature and we should be having a conversation about that. Setting the standards, make sure the resources are in place, we have the best practices in place. </p>
<p>Most importantly, this is a global network and a lot of the of our effort is trying to do things overseas to try to avert problems before they arrive on our shores was a bit too late and we have to, therefore, work with the foreign-owned companies there obviously and their environment. </p>
<p>It’s a total system; it’s a very complex system but let’s be clear here that in terms of owning a terminal, owning a lease inside a terminal, is not something that is basically owning the port and operating the port. As Mr. Dinsmore made clear, the Coast Guard is there, the Customs is there. I’d make the case they just need a lot more resources to do this job a good bit better, given the stakes.</p>
<p>-Stephen Flynn, retired Coast Guard commander and an expert on transportation, border and infrastructure security. A senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations</p>