Port Authority of Jamaica Luncheon

Minister  Pickersgill, Dr. Hylton, members of the board of the Port Authority, distinguished guests, good afternoon. 

I am very pleased to join the Port Authority of Jamaica today to recognize the submission of the first certificates of compliance for Jamaican ports under the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code. 

I congratulate the government of Jamaica for its leadership for recognizing the critical importance of maritime safety and security.   Your work with the port authority directors plays a critical role in the war against terrorism and transnational crime in the Caribbean, and I predict that your foresight will also have a tremendous positive economic impact for Jamaica.

The Challenges

By now you are all familiar with the ISPS code requirements.  You know how challenging the environment is in the world today, and you understand both the cost of compliance and the cost of non-compliance.  You've weighed the pros and cons and you've invested in your country's security and economic growth.  But there are still many who are not aware of the extent of the potential dangers in the maritime industry.  I'd like to talk about that a little bit.  Why it is necessary to take the steps you have taken.

For over a decade, the pattern of terrorist activity has been to hit in vulnerable spots.   You have heard of some of the maritime attacks: the 2000 Al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole in Yemen; the March 2004 suicide bombing in the Port of Ashdod, Israel, targeting chemical storage facilities; the recent attack on oil facilities in Basra, Iraq.  The evidence is that Al Qaeda was buying ships for nefarious purposes as early as 1994.

Indeed, vessels, or the cargo they carry, can be used in several ways by terrorists: for transportation, to raise money, through legal or illegal trade; or for destruction in much the same way that Al Qaeda planners used hijacked airliners to strike New York and Washington.

The fear that terrorists could exploit the container transport system was confirmed barely a month after the Al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.   In October 2001, authorities in the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro, a leading cargo trans-shipment hub for the Mediterranean, discovered an unusually well equipped and neatly dressed stowaway locked inside a shipping container.  The container was furnished with a bed, water, supplies for a long journey and a bucket for a toilet.   Italian police said Mr. Farid, the 43-year-old stowaway, was born in Egypt but carried a Canadian passport.  Farid was smartly dressed, clean-shaven and rested as he emerged with two mobile phones, a satellite phone, a laptop computer, several cameras, batteries and, ominously, airport security passes and an airline mechanic's certificates valid for four major American airports.  That container fitted out as a makeshift home had been loaded in Port Said, Egypt. 

Last December, U.S. and allied forces on patrol in the Persian Gulf tracked and boarded several dhows, confiscating drug shipments worth more than US$15 million.   Seven of the crewmen detained had links to Al Qaeda, which was using drug smuggling to help to finance its operations.  While we know about these particular events because they actually occurred, we do not necessarily know what is now in the planning stages.  According to the U.S. National Commission that has recently been investigating the 9/11 attacks - those attacks were several years in the making. 

I want to share with you some of the commission's findings, because they help shed light on the nature of the threats we face today and, I believe, for years to come will warrant serious consideration by every country concerned about national security and economic stability.

The outline of the 9/11 plot was released by the commission two weeks ago on June 16th.  It is now of public record.  In it we see that the idea for massive surprise attacks on civilians originated with a veteran Jihadist named Khalid Sheik Mohammed - or KSM - as he came to be known.  U.S. authorities got wind of KSM as a result of the handiwork of his nephew Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 world trade center bombings.  In 1994, the evidence shows KSM and Yousef got together and traveled to the Phillipines to plan a new operation intended to blow up 12 commercial jets over the Pacific Ocean in a two-day period.  That plot unraveled when Philippine authorities uncovered their bomb-making devices. 

But the discovery did not end their dreams of destruction.  In 1996 KSM traveled to Afghanistan and met with Osama Bin Ladin, laying out a scaled-up version of what would become the attacks of 9/11. 

As originally envisioned, the 9/11 plot involved an even more extensive attack.  KSM initially proposed a ten-plane attack at targets on both the east and west coasts of the United States, including unidentified nuclear power plants and the tallest buildings in California and Washington state.  The centerpiece of the original proposal was the tenth plane.  Rather then crashing the plane into a target, KSM planned to kill every adult male passenger, contact the media from the air, and land the aircraft at a U.S. air port to denounce the U.S. before releasing the women and children. 

There were variations on the Al Qaeda plan as it evolved over the next five years, but it was always designed to maximize psychological impact.  During the planning phase of the 9/11 plot, the U.S. Commission found that Al Qaeda operatives held meetings in several different countries around the world, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Phillipines, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, Spain, Hong Kong, and the United states.  well-funded, they traveled far and they traveled often.  The commission found documented travel to cities all over the United States.  Among them:  Los Angeles, San Diego, Culver City and La Mesa, in California, Norman Oklahoma, Venice, Florida, Mesa, Arizona, Eagan, Minnesota, Orlando, Florida, Decatur, Georgia, Virginia Beach, Falls Church and Alexandria, Virginia, Fairfield, Connecticut, Paterson, New Jersey, Washington, DC, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Boston, Newark, Laurel, Maryland, Herndon, Virginia and Portland, Maine.   That's crossing a lot of borders, going through a lot of security screenings; passing a lot of operational surveillance. 

In meetings they zeroed in on their preferred targets.  KSM noted that everyone agreed to hit the U.S. capitol while it was in session; he also wanted to hit the world trade center.  Bin Laden favored the Pentagon and the White House.  Other operatives suggested hitting FBI and CIA headquarters and other targets. 

From the commission's report we learn that the terrorists were flexible.  The date of the attacks was not chosen much more than three weeks before September 11, 2001.   Targets also remained flexible. 

I take the time to review the commission's recently released report not to create more anxiety, but to illustrate the realities of the world in which we live today.  The incidents took place in the Middle East, in Europe, in Asia and in North America.   It would be naïve to think that such events could not occur again.   And it would be foolish to forget that from a terrorist point of view, airplanes and ships are essentially fungible.

Thus, I am in full agreement with Minister Pickersgill's recent statement at the international seaport and airport police conference: true freedom is underpinned by security.   If we are serious about protecting freedom of movement on the seas and in our ports - so vital to the economic prosperity and well being of our citizens - then we must be prepared - as best we can - to meet today's variety of threats - and compliance with the ISPS code is very definitely a strong step in the right direction.

Because Jamaica recognizes that it must take IOM requirements very seriously we are all together today to celebrate these certifications.

The way ahead

The United States and Jamaica are partners in the effort to improve port and maritime security.  In the ISPS code compliance process, nearly 100 Jamaican Port Security and management experts have benefited by the experience of the U.S. maritime administration, U.S. coast guard, and U.S. customs and border protection.  Additionally, US Southcom has sent experts to conduct port facility vulnerability assessments and offered advice on methods to ensure secure maritime commerce.

As we look to the future, it is clearly in our mutual best interests to strengthen cooperative ties between businesses and government agencies to enhance port security, to prevent drug and human trafficking, commercial smuggling and other types of customs fraud, and of course to facilitate cross border movement of people and goods.

Conclusion

Our nations have shared interests in the rule of law, in economic growth, and in the preservation of democracy.  The Port Authority of Jamaica is on the front line of these efforts. 

Please accept my congratulations on this important day, as we celebrate the submission of certification for many of Jamaica's ports under the ISPS code. 

Thank you.