Bush announces visa waiver for 7 countries

[Jahness]

Bush announces visa waiver for 7 countries


President Bush speaks about the the Visa Waiver Program in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. Bush announced that visa requirements to visit the U.S. have been removed for citizens of Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)


By JENNIFER LOVEN,
Associated Press Writer Jennifer Loven,
Fri Oct 17, 11:18 pm ET

WASHINGTON – President Bush, trying to eliminate a major source of contention with allied nations, announced Friday that the United States is rescinding visa requirements for citizens of six European countries and South Korea.

Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and South Korea will be added to the U.S. visa waiver program in about a month. Each of those countries allows U.S. citizens to visit without obtaining a visa.

Some lawmakers worry that visa waivers could make it easier for terrorists to slip into the United States. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said "we know (the program) is exploited by dangerous persons" and noted that the Department of Homeland Security has no system in place to ensure that those who entry the country visa-free ever leave.

"It would be irresponsible, and illegal, to expand the visa waiver program without complying with the mandates of the law," she said. "I believe the administration is taking the wrong approach by expanding this program and admitting new countries with even higher visa refusal rates."

But Bush said all of the countries added to the list agreed to take specific steps, such as coming up with tamper-proof, biometric passports that are difficult to forge.

"For years, the leaders of these nations have explained to me how frustrating it is for their citizens to wait in lines, pay visa fees to take a vacation or make a business trip or visit their families here in the United States," Bush said at a ceremony in the Rose Garden. "These close friends of America told me that it was unfair that their people had to jump through bureaucratic hoops that other allies can walk around. I told them I agree with them."

The Czech leader was ecstatic over the news.

"It is really the biggest success we could achieve," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said from Prague. "It is a removal of the last relic of communism and the Cold War."

Jacques Barrot, the European Union's justice and interior affairs commissioner, said in a statement that he welcomes the development and looks forward to the quick admission of remaining EU countries to the visa-waiver program.

Bush also expressed support for efforts by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Poland and Romania to win visa exemptions.

Before Friday's announcement, the visa waiver program included 27 countries, including most of Western Europe. Exclusion has been a sore point among some new NATO allies that have supported U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of those countries, including Poland, did not make the new list because they could not meet admission requirements.

Bush said the seven countries added Friday agreed to share information about security threats to the U.S. and that their citizens would use a new system that requires travelers to register online ahead of their visits to the United States.

___

Associated Press writer Karel Janicek contributed to this report from Prague, Czech Republic.

Bush announces visa waiver for 7 countries - Yahoo! News

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press.

[Im The Truth]

I don't know why the African Union has done the same thing for the Diaspora.

[Jahness]

Originally Posted by Im The Truth

I don't know why the African Union has done the same thing for the Diaspora.

Greetings Im The Truth!

If you don't mind please give me a little more detail your pros and cons as to what you think about this issue in reference to what Bush did, and also to the fact that the Afrikan Union has done the same.

Peace & Blessings!

[Im The Truth]

I mis-texted. I meant why the African Union hasn't done this for the Diaspora.

Also I don't see any cons to eliminating visas. It allows for the free travel of allies. As far as the U.S. doing this with Eastern Europe it tightening the bond of Europe and America.

This is something the AU needs to do with all countries in Africa, the Americas, and all former colonial countries seeing many of Our People are there too.

[Majadi]

Originally Posted by Im The Truth

I mis-texted. I meant why the African Union hasn't done this for the Diaspora.

Also I don't see any cons to eliminating visas. It allows for the free travel of allies. As far as the U.S. doing this with Eastern Europe it tightening the bond of Europe and America.

This is something the AU needs to do with all countries in Africa, the Americas, and all former colonial countries seeing many of Our People are there too.

My God/Brother if the AU did that would it be the AU doing it or the people funding many of the countries in the AU? This being the case the free flow of Afrikans to and fro' would be suicidal to the Aryan Globalists, especially with Afrikans like you and Jahness running around! We just can't have that now can we?

[Jahness]

Greetings Im The Truth & Majadi!

I am not surprised that Bush is doing this for other Europeans. As a matter of fact the United Snakkkes VISA waiver program has always had such loopholes to suit their friends, families and political allies in one form or another.

The reason I posted this article was to inform those who didn't know about this issue being a reality for a lot of Europeans but not for others in poorer Afrikan nations who need help just to survive. When you think of all the Afrikans drowning in boats or any of the native people of Amerikkka being killed at the borders just trying to get a job to feed their families you can see the double standards.

I would like to see something similar being done for Afrikans in the diaspora by the leaders of the Afrikan countries. Thereare a lot of people who wants to help our brothers and sisters on the continent but don't want to go through the hassles of obtaining VISA's and other documents because of the cost at times. Plus they seem to have no problem letting in Europeans in Afrika to steal and destroy the resources of our beloved motherland.

Thanks Truth and Majadi for taking the time to share you valuable opinion on the issue. I sincerely appreciate the effort.

Peace & Blessings