Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Raw Story
The U.S. Department of State has proposed a new questionnaire that would make it almost impossible for some people to get a passport.
The new document (PDF) would require that certain applicants submit a list of every residence and every job they've ever had since birth.
In February, the department published a request in the Federal Register allowing 60 days for comment before the new rules go into effect.
"The Biographical Questionnaire for a U.S. Passport, form DS-5513, is used to supplement an application for a U.S. passport when the applicant submits citizenship or identity evidence that is insufficient or of questionable authenticity," according to a supporting statement (PDF) issued along with the request for comment.
"This form is used prior to passport issuance and solicits information relating to the respondent’s family, birth circumstances, residences, schooling, and employment," the statement added...[Full Article]
Labels: big brother, Department of State, passport, privacy, State Department
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Members of the last American combat brigade in Iraq crossed into Kuwait early on Thursday as the military neared its Aug. 31 deadline to end combat operations.
By October 2011, the State Department will assume responsibility for training the Iraqi police, a task that will largely be carried out by contractors. With no American soldiers to defuse sectarian tensions in northern Iraq, it will be up to American diplomats in two new $100 million outposts to head off potential confrontations between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish pesh merga forces.
To protect the civilians in a country that is still home to insurgents with Al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias, the State Department is planning to more than double its private security guards, up to as many as 7,000, according to administration officials who disclosed new details of the plan. Defending five fortified compounds across the country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissance drones and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress, the officials said...
[Full Article]Labels: contractors, Department of State, Iraq, private security, security, State Department
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]