News
Saturday, April 03, 2010
No mandatory body scanning for travellers to US* New policy covers all travellers coming into the US from abroad
WASHINGTON: The US announced new security measures on Friday to replace the mandatory screening of air travelers from 14 countries that had angered some allies when it was imposed after a failed bombing on Christmas Day. The measures are designed to significantly reduce the number of passengers pulled aside for additional screening and will not be based on nationality or passport, but on characteristics pulled together by intelligence agencies.
“These new measures utilise real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Extra screening: A senior administration official said the new system would require travelers who match information about terrorism suspects, such as a physical description, partial name or travel pattern, to undergo additional screening.
“So it’s much more tailored to what the intelligence is telling us, what the threat is telling us, as opposed to stopping all individuals of a particular nationality or all individuals using a particular passport,” the official said.
He described the measures being scrapped as a “blunt-force instrument”.
The names of terrorism suspects identified by the US government will continue to be included on security watch lists and no-fly lists as a part of airline security.
The new policy affects all travelers coming into the US from abroad.
The measures in force since January required that passengers traveling to the US from 14 countries be subjected to especially rigorous pre-flight screening.
The 14 countries are Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Nigeria – US partners in the fight against al Qaeda – were angered at being on the list.
Under the new measures, if there is information about an individual of interest coming from a particular Asian country who has recently traveled to certain countries in the Middle East and is of a certain nationality and age range, that data would be compared with travelers to the US at foreign airports. reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk