Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward

Show Me Your Papers!

President Bush is expected to sign an $82 billion military spending bill soon that will, in part, create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for Americans. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the package--which includes the Real ID Act--on Thursday.
news.com

i'm not so opposed to the idea of having a federally approved id cards so much as my concern that it is being promoted under the idea that it will make terrorist activities more difficult to carry out in the u.s. i have one question -- if this was in place as proposed, would it have stopped 9/11, the anthrax scares, or the oaklahoma city bombing? i could be wrong, but i don't think it would. terrorists are getting more sophisticated in their ability to hide and carry out attacks and unless this effort significantly raises the bar and would have clearly stopped past attacks, i think they need to go back to the drawing board.

update: bruce schneier (as usual) says it much better and more complete.

Posted by ac at May 9, 2005 11:29 AM