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Newly created secret agency assessed ports deal
(David Morgan, Reuters, February 23, 2006)
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. . . . The White House sought to stem criticism on Wednesday by saying the port takeover had been reviewed by intelligence agencies, including counterterrorism experts. "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. . . . Only a small part of the center's resources are devoted to vetting commercial deals, officials said. . . . CARC's first director, William Dawson, was appointed in January, more than a month after the centre had been asked to begin work on the Dubai Ports World acquisition. . . . Dawson had been a senior information technology official for the intelligence community prior to his appointment. . . . Intelligence officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about CARC, said many of the center's functions were transferred to Negroponte's office from the CIA in 2005 as a result of congressionally mandated intelligence reforms.

posted by Lorenzo 8:38 AM