Why do advocates of a national identification system believe it will prevent terrorism?
Supporters of a national ID point out that the terrorists who launched the September 11th attacks lived freely in the United States without ever being detected, even though some were violating immigration laws. Two of the 9/11 terrorists were on the INS watch list of suspects, yet flew on airplanes freely, used credit cards, had bank accounts, cell phones, and frequent-fliers memberships, and took flying lessons. Five of the terrorists were able to obtain Social Security numbers, even with false identities. Seven of the hijackers were able to obtain Virginia driver’s licenses even though they did not live in that state. As a result, a national ID card that would be required for a number of types of transactions would make it easier to catch potential terrorists. Moreover, the way we identify people now, one error on a computer keyboard can allow a potential terrorist to slip by. A “smart” national identification card would prevent this from happening.
