It just gets worse and worse.
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.
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.
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.
This would barely be justified if there were any indication that it might be effective in counteracting terrorism. So far, all we have is assertions from an administration known for lying that they've stopped "terrorist plots," at least one of which, in Miami, seems to have happened mostly at the instigation of a US agent.
Aside from kissing our tourism industry good-bye, want to guess what form the EU retaliation is going to take?
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