“We would like to hope that we will be ready to act in full measure if not in the middle of summer, then at the beginning of autumn,” said Admiral James Loy, who heads the Transportation Security Administration, which is structurally part of the Department of Homeland Security. The computer system will check passengers' personal data against secret government lists of terrorists, as well as persons suspected of terrorism or involved in serious crimes.
Classification is based on the traffic light principle. Passengers assigned a green color will undergo a standard airport check. Approximately 3-4% will fall into the “yellow” category and will have to undergo enhanced screening. Those assigned a red color are barred from boarding the aircraft.
This color scale has already caused concern among human rights activists and representatives of US civil aviation, who speak of the possibility of violating the right to privacy. However, the head of the Transportation Security Administration claims that the innovation is dictated by the important interests of the United States. “The system on which we now have to rely,” Admiral Loy noted in an interview with NBC, “may not have fallen into disrepair, but it has been seriously undermined and does not provide security to the required degree.”
Corrupt Officials Banned from Entering US
The US authorities have decided to prevent the entry into the country of foreign officials involved in corruption, and this applies to both immigrants and guests. The corresponding decree was signed by President George Bush, as became known in the Mexican city of Monterrey, where a meeting of leaders of Western Hemisphere countries (except Cuba) was held.
As reported by Interfax, the text of this decree, which has already entered into force, emphasizes that “in the interests of the United States, measures have been taken to restrict foreign travel and stop access to America for certain persons - immigrants and non-immigrants - involved in corruption or who took advantage of it in the performance of their official duties.” This measure also extends to those who bribe officials, as well as to wives, children, and relatives financially dependent on the said persons.
The American side insists on including in the final document of the current meeting of 34 heads of state and government of the Western Hemisphere a paragraph on transparency, in order to prevent leaders of corrupt countries from participating in the next summit. However, the majority of Latin American leaders reject this initiative, citing the lack of a clear definition of the degree of corruption of a particular country.