Betting on Deep Vetting

"First, it is not a 'Muslim quarantine' as some believe. It affects certain countries where the Islamic State is the most active. It affects areas where bad actors can slip inside western countries with the refugees."

"Protests erupt after President Trump signs the deep vetting executive order!" There is a headline which belongs right next to "snow is cold", or "rain is wet", or "sun sets in the west". Most of us knew when candidate Trump talked about this issue before the election, it would be the hottest wire of all. However, all one needs to do is look at some of the countries in Europe who have eschewed the deep vetting process - or any vetting at all. They have a (excuse the pun) holy mess on their hands.

Here are some facts about Trump's executive order. First, it is not a "Muslim quarantine" as some believe. It affects certain countries where the Islamic State is the most active. It affects areas where bad actors can slip into western countries, hidden by the refugees. Other large Muslim countries without an active Islamic State terror issue are not affected.

It is also true that Christians from those countries will be given a higher priority. Why? They were the first targeted by the Islamic State and continue to be targeted to this date. The treatment of Christians in Syria and Iraq has been tantamount to genocide. And yet the United Nations has done nothing to stop it. The United States under the Obama Administration did nothing to stop it. President Trump will.

I am now going to take a dangerous turn in this article. It is something I have talked about since the 9/11 attacks. We need to know who is in this country. I have said we need to play a game of "Who's who". Only to play that game, we all need to put our cards on the table. Yes, this is where the Libertarians will want to take me out back and spank me with a 2 by 4. Proving who you are means you need to produce papers (like a birth certificate and social security card). Once you have been vetted, and prove you are who you say you are, you become bonafide.

Because I am retired military, and for my entire military career I had a very high level clearance, I have been stripped naked by vetting. My initial background check took six months. By the time it was over, the government knew every place I had lived, who the neighbors were, who my friends were, every school went to, and what I had for breakfast most mornings. It was that thorough. 

Now I am taking my dangerous turn. This is probably the reason I am not all tied up in knots about Real ID. After all, the Real ID program has been around for a while - since the Bush Administration. And the reason was to tighten up security a bit more for those who like to fly. Truthfully (and no hate mail please!), I don't think Real ID goes far enough. I would have liked to have seen more bio-metrics included. Driver's licences are too easy to forge - even the new ones with Real ID.

If we want to use a country as an example where citizens can be relatively safe while sitting in the middle of a war zone, we just need to look no further than Israel. Israeli citizens are routinely deep vetted by their own government, and there are no protests. Why not? People in Israel want to play "Who's who". They want to make sure the person sitting next to them on a bus is not going to shoot, stab, or blow anyone up.

Get ready for more of this folks. We are in a new era and have a new sheriff in town. The ride will be bumpy and there will be lots of squawking by some. But President Trump is convinced this needs to be done to keep us safer.