New DHS Strategy On Real ID: We'll Just Pretend Everyone Implemented It
from the hell-no-means-yes dept
The Department of Homeland Security had been threatening that drivers' licenses in certain states wouldn't be valid federal IDs if states didn't promise by the end of March to implement the troubled Real ID rules. However, somewhere along the line (with a handful of states vehemently protesting the rules), it appears that Secretary Chertoff and the DHS simply decided that it would pretend every state agreed to implement Real ID and deal with reality later. DHS put out a press release claiming that all states had met the "initial requirements" for Real ID, and even painted its silly map green to show "compliance." The problem is that this simply isn't true. It looks as though DHS simply decided that any communication, even if it was to tell the DHS that there was no chance the state would implement Real ID, would be read as if it were the state agreeing to enact Real ID's rules. The whole thing is rather comical until you realize these are the folks who are supposed to be protecting the country.
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Filed Under: dhs, homeland security, real id
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Re: National Identity cards
They're not.
Moreover, as has been repeatedly discussed at great length (I would recommend Bruce Schneier's blog as one location for these discussions) the creation and dissemination of national identity cards would make it much easier to fake identities, those not only failing to achieve the goals you list, but actively working against them. I realize that this is counter-intuitive to many people, but "many people" are not qualified, experienced security experts, so this is not surprising.
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