Today's episode of "Security Theater"
As a consequence of post-9/11 fear mongering, we ended up with a new law that requires Americans traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean to present a passport when re-entering the country. Lawmakers insisted that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, would form an integral part of the War On Terra™, dont'cha know.
The spin on the initiative included evidence-free conclusions like this statement in a USA Today article:
The new regulations requiring passports were adopted by Congress in 2004 to secure the borders against terrorists.
Never mind the fact that passports don't include a checkbox that says, "I'm a terrorist." Never mind the fact that none of the 9/11 hijackers were using fake passports. The only thing that matters is that fear mongering works wonders:
"I'd rather be going through a security check, than possibly being blown out of the air because of lack of security measures," John Golden of Columbus, Ga., who was headed to Cancun, Mexico.
It went into effect on January 1, 2007 for air travel, but travelers by land and sea don't have to worry about it until January 1, 2008. Apparently, terrorists only take airplanes. Bruce Schneier would probably call this a prime example of "security theater:" measures intended to promote the illusion of security without actually providing security. In this post, he said:
One of two things is true. Either passports are required for security, in which case we should interfere with ferries. Or they're for show, in which case we can just do what's convenient. Or maybe we just know that terrorists never take ferries.
Three years after the law was passed, and six months after it went into effect, the new requirements have caused chaos for millions of Americans applying for passports. Prior to this law, passport applications were processed within about three weeks, on average. Since the beginning of 2007, the wait has escalated to nearly fourteen weeks.
The outcry over the delays has become so deafening, the White House has decided to surrender to the terrorists and temporarily suspend the rule until September 30.
Not only do terrorists travel exclusively by air, they also apparently take summers off.
Either this measure is an important technique for stopping terrorism, or it's theater. Which does the delay imply?