U.S. needs rep on international aviation board
Now that President Obama has taken charge of aviation security, one step he can personally take to connect the dots is to nominate a U.S. ambassador to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is charged with setting global aviation safety and security standards. The position has been vacant for over a year. ICAO responded to the September 11 attacks and the disclosure of a 2006 plot in the U.K. to bring liquid explosives on board aircraft by convening extraordinary sessions of its governing Council to establish uniform global aviation security standards. Aviation security requires international cooperation and is only as strong as its weakest link. Before his unsuccessful attempt to take down a U.S. airliner, Mr. Abdulmutallab was trained in Yemen, traveled to Lagos via London, flew from Nigeria to Amsterdam, and then boarded a U.S. airline bound for Detroit. While the U.S. must act unilaterally to connect the intelligence dots and protect U.S. passengers, it also must work through international channels. Most of ICAO’s 190 signatory nations do not have direct air service to the United States, but travelers to the U.S. may originate in any of those countries. ICAO audits airport security in all of its member states and provides technical assistance to developing countries. Some nations resent heavy-handed U.S. security measures and are more willing to work through an international organization, so the U.S. can achieve its objectives in these countries more effectively through ICAO, where U.S. leadership is welcome, respected and needed. Amb. Donald T. Bliss (Retired)
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Former U.S. Permanent Representative, International Civil Aviation Organization
Bethesda
Let marketplace meet consumers’ needs
Re: “Virginia employees receive $1.37 million in short-term loans,” Jan. 5
Former Gov. Tim Kaine’s approach to payday loans shows a lack of understanding of how these short-term loans actually work. Kaine misguided the public when judging these two-week loans by an annual interest rate. A typical short-term payday loan would have to be rolled over 26 times (every two weeks for a year) to achieve the excessive interest rate he claimed. Short-term payday loans are meant to be just that, short-term. Instead of trying to make financial decisions for their constituents, politicians should allow the marketplace to continue to provide what consumers want. Borrowers are better off with more credit options, not fewer. Sarah Longwell
Director of communications, Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington
Be generous to Haitians, but don’t forget the troops
The President has ordered the U.S. military to take the lead in delivering security and humanitarian aid following the devastating earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti, where current estimates leave over 100,000 dead, a government brought to its knees, and all but nonexistent food, shelter and clean drinking water for 3 million Haitians. The deployment of 2,000 Marines and thousands of soldiers to maintain order in the streets and provide other military support – including earth-moving equipment, helicopters, floating hospitals and transport planes– brings professionalism and American optimism to a region devastated by nature and filled with people who have lost everything, including hope. These unexpected demands placed on our servicemen and women in the face of international disaster come at a time when the U.S. military has been actively engaged in ongoing combat operations for the past eight years. 2010 will undoubtedly be a year of increased deployments. I urge Americans to be generous to Haitian relief efforts, but also to keep in mind the additional sacrifice borne by our troops and their families. William H. Nelson
Executive director, USA Cares
