CA Congressmen take sides on port security

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 21, 2006 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

San Diego's two republican congressmen take different positions on a controversial deal to give an Arab company control of some U.S. port operations. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Congressman Duncan Hunter says he opposes selling shipping operations to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emerate. Even though the president supports the deal Hunter says he does not stand behind Mr. Bush on this issue, because he says, security depends on relationships.

Hunter: "That is if you have someone in the Arab government who was paid or extorted by the bad guys, by a terrorist group, to make sure that a certain cargo container was not searched, that could make the difference between a disaster occurring in this country and not occurring , so I think it's a mistake."

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Hunter says he hopes the president will reconsider his position. But if not, Hunter is ready to vote to override a presidential veto.

Congressman Darryl Issa, on the other hand, says the sale should not be opposed on the basis of the company's nationality. But, Issa believes more security safeguards are needed whenever U.S. operations are owned by any foreign company.

Alison St John, KPBS news.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.