Forget the trees! If you would only look at the forest, you'd see that it's actually underwater.

In fact, the vast majority of US ports are owned by foreign companies. But ownership ranks toward the bottom of the vulnerabilities, says Flynn, who hopes the attention garnered by the recent purchase will emphasize the need to work with foreign entities in addressing larger security concerns. Regardless of who owns the ports, the volume of goods flowing through them is so massive that providing security oversight for incoming containers is a daunting task.

UAE Port Purchase Raises Outcry