Insanity in an Insane World
I am willing to accept that border security was and remains a problem, especially at our nation's seaports. Ships enter the U.S. and bring goods and passengers from other countries. We have two areas that have not been handled well. The first is the careful documentation of everything and everyone coming "to" the United States from abroad. Goods and people get smuggled in, and there needs to be a tighter observation and accountability of "stuff" that gets unloaded from commercial vessels. Land and sea.
Secondly, there obviously has not been enough verification of contents of shipping containers and the like. It takes longer, and requires more people to do the checking, but careful inspection of everything entering the U.S. (and exiting) is possible with the will to do it.
Enter the Department of Homeland Security. In a December announcement, the fight is over. All passengers aboard a land or sea vehicle departing any U.S. port will need to have proof of citizenship in addition to a photo I.D.
How absurd is that?
Here's the problem. No elaborate scheme here. Just careful execution. If I were a terrorist and somehow got to one of the island destinations of the more popular cruise lines, I could just observe passengers disembarking for a shore excursion. When one becomes isolated from others in a crowded marketplace, I could apprehend the individual and take his or her wallet and cabin key.
Professional make-up job and I "become" that passenger. Return to the ship with a stolen identity, bound for the U.S. I even have a valid passport since the passenger was required to have it for the cruise. See the problem?
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