Bouchard: port security expert

The Virginian Pilot has run the occasional “ad watch” column in which they look at a piece of mail and try to determine if the ad is accurate. Saturday, they looked at an ad put out by Chris Stolle which attacked Joe Bouchard on port security.

If you recall, there was considerable controversy surrounding the purchase by Dubai Ports World of a British company that ran some ports in the US. The British company, P&O Ports North America, was a marine terminal operator at six ports in the U.S. Note that P&O nor DPW would have owned the ports; they simply would have continued to provide the exact same services as before. For Stolle to say that Bouchard supporting “selling American ports” is a deliberate lie.

DPW is owned by the government of Dubai, which is in the United Arab Emigrates. Contrary to the claims of Stolle, neither DPW nor Dubai are connected to terrorism. Neither is mentioned in The 9/11 Commission report (pdf). It is true that two of the 9/11 terrorists were United Arab Emigrates citizens, but they were not from Dubai. It is also true that some of the al Qaeda funds that supported the 9/11 attacks passed through banks in Dubai. Um, al Qaeda was in Virginia Beach and used banks here so does that link Virginia Beach to terrorism?

Here’s the truth: Bouchard is a nationally recognized expert on port security. He served as Deputy Senior Director, National Security Council and was responsible for port security. As the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, he managed port operations in the Mid-Atlantic region. He established the Hampton Roads Joint Harbor Operations Center in 2001, the first port security command center in the United States. For this effort, he received the following awards:

• Secretary of Defense 2002 Annual Antiterrorism Award, Best Antiterrorism/Force Protection Innovation or Action
• Hampton Roads Maritime Association 2002 Port Champion Award
• US Secretary of Transportation 2002 Partnering for Excellence Award for Port Security in Hampton Roads
• Virginia Port Authority Medal of Excellence

Bouchard has been a frequent speaker on the topics of homeland security, port security, supply chain security, counterterrorism and emergency preparedness at numerous governmental and non-government agencies, including the FBI Academy, the U.S. Naval Institute, and National Public Radio. And, of course, Bouchard is employed as Executive Director of the Center for Homeland Security and Defense.

When Bouchard says that the transfer of ownership of the terminal operations and stevedoring services at American ports from one foreign entity to another was no threat to port security, you can believe it.

Vote Joe Bouchard, November 6.

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