America's ports vulnerable, even with more patrols

Beefing up security on all these fronts also runs into the buzz saw of resistance from business and labor groups that don't want to slow commerce or impinge on civil liberties of travelers. The mayor included business and union representatives in his task force. But some longshoreman's unions have objected to certain procedures as violations of privacy that could lead to employment dismissals based on felonies recorded long ago.

"The new environment of national security has to be part of a larger effort to rebalance new requirements with our national Constitution," California Rep. Jane Harman said at a recent press conference to unveil new security recommendations.

What's clear so far is that US ports have dramatically stepped up security efforts, with high-alert staffing of existing agencies from port police to local fire and police departments, as well as Coast Guard and even US Department of Fish and Game vessels.

In sea marshals here, boarding incoming vessels up to 12 miles offshore, take the precautions a step further. They check passenger and cargo lists, and inspect cabins and cargo holds.

"It's been really hectic and frantic, trying to keep an eye on everything that blinks," says petty officer Ivan Bell, who graduated with 90 others of the first sea marshal training class here. A second class of 90 is in training.

Mr. Bell carries a shotgun and a nine-millimeter Beretta pistol. On his belt are handcuffs, pepper spray, an extendable police club, rubber gloves for handling drugs, and other gloves for frisking suspects.

For all the increased show of force, officials say new equipment is needed if ports are to monitor cargo more closely. One example is a truck with a crane bearing a gamma ray imaging unit the size of a small TV. The unit is passed over a truck or container to create a two-dimensional drawing of its contents which agents can then analyze for possible contraband.

But for now, officials here are making do with what they have. That means relying on hundreds of volunteers and their boats who patrol the waters here under the banner of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Volunteers give time and use their own boats, getting reimbursed only for gas. But since September, volunteer crews have dwindled from nine to one.

"If we are really going to protect US ports the right way, we are going to have to come up with funding to replace all this old equipment," says Ken Smith, who has been in the Coast Guard Auxiliary for 30 years and worked at least eight hours a day every day since Sept. 11. Besides his own time, he has sunk $10,500 into repairs on his 32-year-old boat.

Beyond boats and scanning devices, experts say increased intelligence is the best weapon against terrorism.

This battleground will be political, as law enforcers seek enhanced surveillance of the Internet traffic, money flows, and the like. Harman and others are seeking more funding and political teeth for Tom Ridge, head of the newly-created office of homeland security. That may mean freer flows of information between federal and state agencies, who are currently straightjacketed in sharing key data by security clearance procedures. Such enhanced capabilities will have to be balanced against the encroachment of civil liberties for all US citizens.

"The war on terror is going to be a lot like the war on drugs," says Holmes. "With five million containers passing through here every year, we are going to have to rely on more than getting lucky on a few, random searches. That means watching the movement of possible terrorists more closely by any means at hand."

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