3 chapters across the catalog
Efforts to secure a travel waiver involved contacts with the Royal Dutch Marines in Mali and Iraq, as well as the Department of Homeland Security at the US embassy in the Netherlands. Officials ultimately refused to sign off on an exception to avoid violating European Union law regarding passport expiration and 90-day tourist visas.
Visa Waiver Program and USAID Economic Hitmen
Representatives Gabbard and Collins propose suspending the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) due to security concerns, which the hosts argue would damage the economy. The discussion touches on the "Economic Hitman" theory regarding USAID workers and the high-security environment of U.S. embassies in Europe, where visitors are prohibited from carrying electronics.
Electronic Device Bans, State Department Bureaucracy, Janet Napolitano
Mickey Curry was forced to leave a security line at the U.S. Embassy after arriving with a mobile phone, violating strict electronic device policies. The hosts attribute the increasingly rigid and "hostile" nature of embassy security to Department of Homeland Security policies under Janet Napolitano. An anecdote about a former ambassador suggests that even high-level connections cannot bypass current security rigmarole.
