Bullying their way out of power
The Bush administration is making another push for passenger data from the EU, along with other “security” measures that push the already too generous envelope.
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 demand to put armed air marshals on to the flights is part of a travel clampdown by the Bush administration that officials in Brussels described as "blackmail" and "troublesome", and could see west Europeans and Britons required to have US visas if their governments balk at Washington's requirements.
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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.
The data from the US's new electronic transport authorisation system is to be combined with extensive personal passenger details already being provided by EU countries to the US for the "profiling" of potential terrorists and assessment of other security risks.
Washington is also asking European airlines to provide personal data on non-travellers - 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".
As with most things, if you give in to one of their demands, they just push for even more.
One of the points regarding hyperpowers made by Amy Chua, was that they exhibited a type of tolerance. They didn't try to force their ways upon others, but allowed local leaders to retain their legitimacy, while seeking out the best and brightest offered around the world and integrating them into the empire’s fold.
For a long time, the US was the leader in this, educating the young elites of the world in its universities. Since 9/11 and the ever increasing difficulties placed on travelers to the US, they’ve lost that lead, most significantly among the Islamic world. Measures like the one above make even business travelers and tourists reluctant to visit. It’s one of the reasons that, despite an ever weakening dollar, tourism numbers have decreased rather than increased.
But no matter, the Bush administration still believes in its power, and you can see it in their negotiating ploys.
According to a US document being circulated for signature in European capitals, 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, senior EU officials said.
Basically, agree with our demands, or we’ll make it even harder for your citizens to travel to the US. And this time, it will probably work for the most part. There are still too many ties for the Europeans to afford a massive curtailing of traffic. But the new restrictions and demands will have a curtailing effect of their own, and it will encourage a widening of European options for future business opportunities. The negotiating tactics of the Bush administration are a function of their worldview.
. . . If, as the neoconservative worldview would have it, the United States posesses an enduring, historically unprecedented concentration of power, then the Bush/Clinton strategy makes perfect sense. If the world is truly unipolar, then to be cut off diplomatically and economically from the United States is to be left out in the cold. To be cut off from Washington is functionally the same as being cut off from everywhere else.
If, however, the world is (or is fast becoming) functionally multipolar, the strategy breaks down. In such a situation, while a relationship with Washington may bring many benefits, it is far from essential. There are other power centers to which countries can look for diplomatic, military and economic support. During the Cold War, U.S. leaders understood this reality, and so made a greater effort to woo foreign capitals, always concerned that the Soviets would make a better offer.
The world is already moving to the latter balance, and every time the US throws it's still considerable weight around like it's doing over air travel to bully others to comply with their wishes, the more everyone wants to see that latter balance take hold.
