Well Now Isn’t That Special
It looks like our friends at DHS are about to make travel easier and safer again.
DHS has apparently decided to extend their “trusted traveler” program, Global Entry. They’re planning to extend it to travelers from Saudi Arabia.
Participants in the program have to present their passports and fingerprints on entry. After doing so, they’re allowed to bypass normal customs procedures and checks when entering the US. Once registered in the program, the status is good for 5 years.
Now, don’t jump to conclusions. Just because over 75% (15 of 19) of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis doesn’t mean anything. Why shouldn’t we give them special entry privileges at customs?
And what does it matter that only a relative handful of other nations meet program requirements have to do with anything? Just because even close allies like France and Germany aren’t currently members of the program doesn’t mean Saudi Arabia shouldn’t be.
Perhaps I should just shut up now, before my ability to be sarcastic escapes me and I start saying what I really think.
In the words Han Solo: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
March 20th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
I think I’m going to be sick.
March 20th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Fuck it, then. Just let them fly the plane too while they’re at it.
March 20th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
What Ex-PH2 said.
And we’re going to keep screwing around, and a lot more Americans are going to end up dead.
March 20th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Idiot bastards! I still have to go through friggin customs, and I’m a real-live-no-bullshit-Born-Here-Citizen!
March 20th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Let me get this straight, I have to go through customs coming home from a war zone where I have been fighting for my country but a Saudi doesn’t?
March 20th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Not all Saudis, Twist. Just those enrolled in Global Entry.
March 20th, 2013 at 12:48 pm
“The program allows travelers who have undergone a thorough vetting process — fingerprinting, background checks, interviews with customs agents, etc.– to attain a low-risk status that allows them to skip the line at customs and complete their entry process at an automatic kiosk.”
This is too perfect. Praise Allah! And Kuklah and Franah!
March 20th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
2/17 Air Cav: not exactly real comfortable with part of your comment above being posted publicly. Mind if I redact a bit of it?
March 20th, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Would love to see this for veterans/veterans families. My wife has family walking distance across the Arizona border. Every time we go to my in-laws house it can take a long time to get into Mexico and even longer for us to get back into the US. I’ve waited up to 6 hours to walk less than a quarter mile to come back home to a country I’ve served behind people who aren’t even citizens.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
Figure I might as well be as nonsensical as these morons. At least Alice in Wonderland has the excuse of being written with a handful of drugs per verse.
I’m starting to wonder what sort of skeletons we’d kick up cleaning out our current batch of supposed leaders.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Who came up with this crap?
I was born here. I’m an American. My family started coming here in 1632. This is pissing me off.
Who did this?
March 20th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
I thought Bush wasn’t president any more…..
/grabs the popcorn. {;-D
March 20th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
The article mentions France and Germany as “key US allies” not part of the program….could also add the UK, Australia, Italy, Poland, Japan, Israel, etc etc to the list. Unbelievable.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
So terrorist handlers will start sending folks to probe the program, and eventually find out how to exploit it. Then, a whole shit-pot of radicalized Saudi’s will be flying over with no luggage and no round-trip tickets, either.
They’ll probably call it “Project Mayhem”. (“Everything is alright, sir… everything is under control.”)
March 20th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Ah! Answered my own question (who did this). As I suspected it was that obnoxious toady, Napolitano.
Here’s something from Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/20/decision-to-extend-trusted-traveler-program-to-saudi-scrutinized/
March 20th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
To add another oft-used quote:
“What could possibly go wrong?”
March 20th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
you cannot adequately vet anyone from the ME, their whole social structure allows them to lie about damn near anything to someone not a part of it. one of the reasons torture is so prevelant over there…
March 20th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
hey maybe DHs just needs lots of Saudis for holders counterterror improvement program…
March 20th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
They get “advisor” status to our government (see #18), and now they bypass our security procedures?
Either we have a viper in the woodpile somewhere, or a boatload of money has changed hands–to the detriment of our national security.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
Hmmmmmmm
While Clements (director of Colorado prison system) generally kept a low profile, his killing comes a week after Clements denied a Saudi national prisoner’s request to be sent to his home country to serve out his sentence. Homaidan al-Turki was convicted of sexually assaulting a housekeeper and keeping her as a virtual slave.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Saw this before I got busy today… Hoped/prayed/wished it was from The Onion or TDB.
Never mind.
March 20th, 2013 at 1:50 pm
Whenever the United States Government puts Muslims on “trusted” lists it ends up badly. Anwar al Awlaki was on a trusted list having been invited to the Pentagon…..
It’s almost as though they are encouraging and prepping us for another attack.
Also why Saudi Arabia. Is there really that many travelers from Saudi Arabia coming to the United States in the first place?
March 20th, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Hondo: No, do what you think is right.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
@22
Sunstantial numbers of Saudis come to U.S. to attend college…some recent statistics have numbers well over 20,000 annually. Not sure that explains anything…what about Chinese and East Indians who comprise probably largest foreign contributors to U.S. universities?
March 20th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
I can see I’m going to be flying a whole lot less in the future. And driving a whole lot more. And not going overseas at all. Not even Hawaii.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:48 pm
I haven’t read all of the comments above but I see there is some misunderstanding. The program allows one to bypass the lines at immigration. We still go through the same security checks and customs inspection. Instead of waiting in the immigration line we go to the side,stand in front of a retina recognition machine, answer some questions on a touch screen and if approved go through immigration by handing our forms to a US Immigration officer. I was detained for about 20 minutes last summer returning from Mexico. Not sure why, they just pick someone out at random and do a full check. We can only do that when returning to the US or Canada. I am a US native citizen and retired US Army soldier, and my Florida born US citizen wife travel and I frequently outside the US. We are members of the program. In order to get in the program we had to apply and fill out nearly the same forms needed for a security clearance and after paying a fee, we were investigated, and after several months were approved and had to travel to a US border crossing point to be interviewed, photographed and retina scanned. I believe that all applicants go through the same hurdles.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:00 pm
I want to add to my comment above that fingerprints were submitted with the application.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:11 pm
that being said, I don’t trust Wahhabis to not game the system
March 20th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
2-17 Air Cav: thanks, and done.
Although what you posted was merely common sense, still – common sense isn’t necessarily that common. Might be best left unsaid.
March 20th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
@16 Sparky- What difference at this point does it make?
March 20th, 2013 at 9:15 pm
They’re also going to go through pre-clearance in Riyadh and/or Jeddah, i.e., not go through as intensive inspection they get when they arrive into US.