another "either you are with us ..." story

And the problem is?

"Martin Hotze" wrote in message
...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...tional0543EST0
468.D
TL or http://makeashorterlink.com/?X5E425BE6

---snip
Security stepped up for international airlines over United States
JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
©2003 Associated Press

URL:
sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/news/a/2003/12/30/national0543EST0468.DTL


(12-30) 05:44 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday hailed the response of
other
nations so far in the U.S. quest to get air marshals deployed, if
necessary, to
protect commercial airplanes against terrorist attack.

"I'd put the family on the plane," Ridges said when asked about how
strongly he
felt about new safety measures the Bush administration has undertaken.

Ridge made the rounds of morning news shows a day after the Department of
Homeland Security issued a new directive giving the government the option
of
denying access to U.S. airspace to airlines which do not cooperate.

"Working with our partners around the world, I think we have made great
progress
in this area," said Ridge. Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" show,
he
called the move "an added level of security."

"People travel. People must travel," Ridge said. "We cannot submit to the
fear
associated with the continuous scream that they (terrorists) would use
aviation
as a means of attack."

Under the new policy, foreign airlines risk being denied access to
American
airspace if they don't obey the new directive that some international
flights
crossing over or headed to the United States must carry an armed law
enforcement
officer to thwart terrorists, Homeland Secretary officials said earlier.

"Any sovereign government retains the right to revoke the privilege of
flying to
and from a country or even over their airspace," Ridge told a news
conference
Monday. "So ultimately a denial of access is the leverage that you have."

There has been no indication so far that any country will refuse U.S.
demands to
place guards on designated flights.

Ridge also said the nation would remain at the "Code Orange" high alert
through
the New Year's holiday and perhaps beyond. "We are as concerned today as
we were
yesterday," he said Monday. "We'll be concerned as much this week as we
were
last week."

The new directive requires selected international flights that enter U.S.
airspace to carry an armed law enforcement officer aboard. The Homeland
Security
Department will require such officers on airplanes where intelligence
information leads to a specific concern about that flight.

For months, U.S. security officials have feared that al-Qaida operatives
would
again hijack planes to use them as missiles. The most recent concerns
centered
not on domestic passenger flights, but on airliners or cargo planes that
take
off from overseas and cross over U.S. airspace, either on their way to a
U.S.
airport or to a foreign one.

"I think the level of security this time around within the United States
is
absolutely unprecedented," Ridge said on CBS's "The Early Show."

"International aviation security isn't just a priority for the United
States,"
said Ridge, who called it "an international priority."

On ABC, Ridge said the notion of grounding another nation's commercial
flight
would be "seen as a last alternative" if the United States cannot resolve
concerns about passengers on a given flight before that plane's scheduled
takeoff.

The administration raised the terrorism alert level to orange, or high, on
Dec.
21, citing nonspecific but credible threats of an imminent terrorist
attack.

Air France canceled six flights between Paris and Los Angeles on Wednesday
and
Thursday, after security discussions between U.S. and French officials.

Aviation security experts said the announcement marks a significant change
in
that, up until now, international security guidelines have been voluntary.

"In the past, no country has ever tried to impose on other countries any
measures of aviation security," said Rafi Ron, president of New Age
Security
Solutions, a Washington-based consultancy, and the former security
director for
the Israeli Airport Authority.

The next logical step will be for the international community to push for
global
aviation security standards, including mandated reinforced cockpit doors
and
better airport perimeter defenses.

Homeland Security officials said governments frequently set security and
other
standards for planes bound for their airspace.

Homeland Security reviews the passenger and crew manifests of all planes
bound
for U.S. airspace, generally after the plane has taken off, because
passenger
lists are usually finalized only minutes before the plane taxis from the
gate,
department spokesman Dennis Murphy said.

Some passenger lists are reviewed beforehand, he said.

Some international airlines said Monday they would cooperate with the new
U.S.
requirement. Others, including airlines in Canada and Germany, said they
already
were using armed marshals on some flights.

Britain said Sunday it had tightened security for trans-Atlantic flights
and
suggested, as it has in the past, that it might put armed sky marshals on
some
planes.

©2003 Associated Press
---snap

#m
--
harsh regulations in North Korea (read below link after reading the
story):
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/04/open-mikulan.php
oooops ... sorry ... it happened in the USA, ya know: the land of the
free.