Obscure US intelligence agency assessed ports deal

[kpete]

Obscure US intelligence agency assessed ports deal
Thu Feb 23, 2006 02:23 AM GMT

By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deal that allows an Arab-owned company in Dubai to manage six major U.S. ports was scrutinized for security risks by an obscure intelligence agency that has existed for only four months, American officials said on Wednesday.

The Intelligence Community Acquisition Risk Centre, or CARC, overseen by the office of intelligence chief John Negroponte, was asked by the government committee that vets foreign investments in the United States to look into the ports deal soon after it came to its attention in early November.

U.S. officials approved the sale of British-based P&O to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates on January 16, giving the Arab-owned firm a green light to take over port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami.

..................

"The intelligence community did assessments to make sure that there was no national security threat," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

But intelligence officials said CARC, which has little to do with counterterrorism activities, was formed just last October as the agency mandated to assess security risks posed by companies that do business with the intelligence community.


http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=1097504§ion=news&src=rss/uk/worldNews

[slor]

1. It just keeps coming...

what a arrogant bunch of asswipes.

[acmavm]

2. You know if Scotty says the deal was checked out by the

'intelligence community' it's not true. Snotty is such a lying joke.