The headline in today's edition of the Guardian reads: "Bush orders clampdown on flights to US"
Well that's a bit dramatic perhaps, not to mention distressing. But what does it mean?
The Bush Administration has been pressing the EU for various visa tightenings and air traveler dossiers and some form of showdown seems to be on the horizon. The rumored details have been chatted up for months, but to review them now in full is to witness yet another slimy arm of paranoia squeezing at our heart.
There are four main elements:
The US administration is pressing the 27 governments of the European Union to sign up for a range of new security measures for transatlantic travel, including allowing armed guards on all flights from Europe to America by US airlines.
The armed guard requirement is perhaps at least arguable, although the EU is strongly resisting. Anyway 'armed' doesn't have to imply a gun and air marshals are nothing new so let's move on.
Next:
And within months the US department of homeland security is to impose a new permit system for Europeans flying to the US, compelling all travellers to apply online for permission to enter the country before booking or buying a ticket, a procedure that will take several days.
OK, so visas are basically just visitor passes, and getting such visitor permission from the Authorities is nothing new. But throughout my lifetime the trend has been toward more relaxed international travel regulations. And this is the EU we're talking about anyway. I mean getting a visa for the Communist USSR (remember them?) was a chore, but now a visa for Communist China is (usually) just a slight formality. Obviously I don't grok the Fear of Bad Guys Coming In, as much as I worry that reliance on the OneBigOmnipotentTravelerDatabase will fail to deliver anything other than a further degradation of air travel and more raw blood for the Security Industry. But then that's just me, Mr. Buttle...or is it Tuttle?
And next:
EU states would also need to supply personal data on all air passengers overflying but not landing in the US in order to gain or retain visa-free travel to America..."
A Fear of Hijackers, or just an overwhelming need to dossier everyone all the time. Don't bother answering.
And finally:
Washington is also asking European airlines to provide personal data on non-travelers - for example family members - who are allowed beyond departure barriers to help elderly, young or ill passengers to board aircraft flying to America, a demand the airlines reject as "absurd".
And who brought them to the airport? And where did they eat their lunch and were the cook's papers in order and well consarnit, there's just no End to the Conspiracies. For once I agree with the airlines. This is absurd with a capital BS.
So will the EU concede to all points? I doubt it. Perhaps they anticipate a coming American glasnost and will just try to drag out the entire process until next year when the pandas sing and the flowers bloom and the criminal leadership of the U.S. hops on the gravy train and rides into the blood-red sunset. Maybe they are just negotiating and will accede once enough deal points tally. I certainly hope they don't just roll over, but my cynicism is overtaking my despondency these days. And anyway, we're Hell-bent on getting REALID and SecureFlight here in the US so I should probably just SMFP.
Now, I've traveled a fair amount. I've been shaken down for "gratuities" on multiple continents and played tedious visa games with Uzi-armed teenagers. I don't rattle easily. But these increasingly ugly bits of news regarding the US border are beginning to creep me out.
As much as anywhere else, in these frothy fear-driven stories resides the true epitaph of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney.
President Obama? President Clinton? You've got a lot of work to do. We all do.