Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Tom:

Can you expound on we should have done this from the start? In an environment where sectarian violence is such that people sometimes carry fake Sunni/Shia credentials to avoid mass killings, does this database not create a tempting tool for extremists?

Or is the assertion that the positives outweigh the negatives?

And is this a technology/solution you'd limit to Gap countries? Ubiquitous Identification would undoubtedly solve many crime problems here in the US as well, but many groups are concerned over the potential privacy issues. Should the US be working to move towards/past a UK-style surveillance society? And should it be one where the results are limited to law enforcement, or shared with everyone? (yes, I've read Transparent Society by Brin more than once.) I realize I'm mixing surveillance and identification here to a certain extent, but the technologies are related. One begets the other, in either direction.

(apologies and feel free to ignore if I should already know this from other writings...it's been awhile since I read the blog, I'm re-starting PNW after a hiatus. I'll catch up soon enough).