More EU Countries Seek Visa Waivers

According to an International Herald Tribune/Associated Press article, three more EU nations in eastern Europe are seeking visa-free travel to the U.S. Homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff wants air marshals on flights and electronic travel authorization as part of any new visa waiver deals. Of course, EU officials claim the added security measures violate the privacy and restrict the civil rights of air passengers. Chertoff, of course, dismissed those concerns: “We must beat back those people who argue that any time we collect a little information or any time we place a secure document requirement in the law, it is somehow the end of civil liberties. We need to engage that and to make the point that it actually enhances civil liberties.” The unidentified nations which would thus benefit from “enhanced civil liberties” were presumed to be Slovakia, Hungary, and Lithuania.