9/11 Will Never Happen Again If ? The "War on Terror" continues unabated as we enter one of the most important elections in American history. The candidates must tell us how they plan to win the war, but disturbingly this campaign issue remains on the back burner. Our enemies are extremist Muslim fanatics claiming allegiance to no nation; who are not governed by secular law, and who find it their sacred obligation to kill infidels? defined as anyone not believing in their distorted version of the Qur'an. So, how can we prevent another 9/11? A remarkable new strategy called "The Privilege of Passage Plan" or the "POP Plan", offers an approach to defeating terrorism, and protecting America from further attacks.
The POP Plan addresses the problem which permits possible terrorists to travel wherever they wish, with no nation accepting responsibility for their criminal acts. But what if nations were held financially responsible for the criminal acts their passport holders perpetrate while abroad? For example, the POP Plan would mandate that participating nations conduct basic inquiries of a passport applicant's character, and personal history, deeming them a proper or dangerous traveler - since a nation would be financially at risk for that traveler's criminal activities anywhere in the world. Travelers without POP Plan passports would not be allowed into any POP Plan member nations. For instance, 15 of the 19 - 9/11 hijackers entered the United States with Saudi Arabian passports - if Saudi Arabia had been a POP Plan member, they would not have issued passports to citizens suspected of terrorist operations as a few of the hijackers were.
On the other hand, if the hijackers were issued passports under the terms of the POP Plan, then Saudi Arabia would have been liable for upwards of $150 billion. At the very least, the POP Plan would make it immensely more difficult for terrorists to travel unrestrained, a giant step forward in the War on Terror. Homeland Security should welcome the POP Plan since its very nature causes nations to examine their passport applicants more closely. To establish the POP Plan, and develop an international consensus, our State Department must take the lead, subject to Congress and the President. This process must be conducted outside of the United Nations where it would be tied up in countless debates and resolutions.
The implementation of the POP PLAN should be conducted on a "time is of the essence" basis. Funding for the POP PLAN should be relatively simple. A nominal entry and departure toll would be collected by all common carriers including airlines, railroads, other surface carriers and steamship lines. These tolls would be remitted to the management of the POP Plan. Consideration would be given to persons living in one nation and working in another adjacent nation. Travelers from nations not participating in the POP Plan who wish to visit the United States or any other POP Plan nation, could do so by posting individual collateral, purchasing an adequate insurance policy, or providing a surety bond satisfactory to the nation being visited by indemnifying that nation for criminal acts perpetrated by the visitor.
There would have to be some exceptions for the critically ill, diplomatic personnel, athletic teams, cultural performers, members of world organizations, certain scientists, etc. These exceptions need to be determined by the participating nations who would establish a governing board, promulgate rules and regulations, employ staff and management and install some form of adjudication to decide and rule on the many issues such as defining what is a criminal act, which is liable and quantification of damages. Our candidates for elective office need to tell us?what they would do to ensure that 9/11 would never happen again. The basis for the POP Plan and additional practical /feasible/attainable anti terrorist elements are found in "The Owl and the Hawk", a novel written by John Errett. The POP Plan is designed to end terrorism and is non political, non-violent, very achievable, and costs nothing - unless we ignore it.
A native New Yorker now living in Florida, John Errett has seen the world.As co-founder and vice president of UNITEL John worked on an element the USA/Iranian hostage crisis in 1980 and 1981. http://www.theowlandthehawk.com
