by dint of William Douglas and James Kuhnhenn WASHINGTON -- The Coast Guard warned in December that the propos takeover of a certain number of U.

by dint of William Douglas and James Kuhnhenn

WASHINGTON -- The Coast Guard warned in December that the propos takeover of a certain number of U.S. port operations by a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates raised "intelligence gaps" that made it difficult to assess the deal's possible threat to national security.

Its cautions, however, didn't trigger a 45-day investigation into the transaction, which would have been required if a Cabinet-level agency had raised similar concerns. The Coast Guard is a division of the De-partment of Homeland Security.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee released the unclassified Coast Guard document Monday. It came united day after the Bush administration accepted an invitation from Dubai Ports World to prosecute a new inquiry into the national security implications of its deal to acquire terminals at six major U ports when it purchases a British firm, Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co