World View

Intrusive Security: Blame the United States

When Europeans dont like a security measure, they think they know where to point their finger

By Paul Raines

July 13, 2007 — CSO —

From CSOonline.com

World View

When Europeans donâ¬"t like a security measure,

they think they know where to point their finger

By Paul Raines

There’s a joke making the rounds in Europe these days. It goes like this: There once was a man on a train who was ripping pages from a book and tossing them out the window.

The conductor walks by and cries out, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m trying to keep the elephants away.”

“Elephants?” the conductor exclaims. “I don’t see any elephants!”

“See!” the man replies. “It’s working!”

On one level this is a simple pleasantry designed to provoke a smile. On another it is a metaphor for the way Europeans are increasingly viewing security measures designed to thwart terrorism. In this regard, American and European opinions are increasingly at odds.

Americans tend to view increased security measures as a necessary evil—especially after 9/11. To be sure, there are concerns amongst some Americans about the invasion of privacy and civil liberties, but it has not risen to a level of mass discontent. In Europe, however, it is approaching that point.

My evidence is a combination of the anecdotal and the factual. Anecdotally, I have lunch and tea every day with my European colleagues. They all have a horror story to tell about too-strict airport security. The complaints range from missing a flight because they were standing in a security line, to having their personal privacy and/or dignity violated because of a run-in with a Customs or security official. They tend to blame Americans for the imposition caused by increased security.

On the factual side, a recent survey of frequent international travelers for the tourism promotion group Discover America found a 17 percent drop in tourism to the United States since 2001. A full 39 percent of the survey’s respondents cited the United States as the “worst” for immigration and entry procedures. Half of the respondents said immigration and Customs officials were rude and that they actually feared them more than the threat of terrorism.

There are other minor irritants as well. In the city where I live, the U.S. Embassy has turned into an armed fortress that is an eyesore to an otherwise picturesque historic district. The concrete barricades, fencing and barbed wire cover an entire city block and prevent tourists from visiting a historic monument, which is now enclosed within the embassy’s new security perimeter.

These measures, combined with the general unpopularity of American foreign policy in Europe, have created an atmosphere in which any new security measure is reflexively blamed on Americans. Recently, my organization set up metal detectors at a conference of foreign delegates. The reaction from the staff was not that this increased safety, but rather that the American delegation must have required it. (This wasn’t true, by the way.)

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