http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=47 <http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=47&a=11000> &a=11000
Passport Concerns Downplayed By Darrin Culmer With less than four weeks to go before the highly debated Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative [WHTI] comes into effect, a veteran US politician expressed confidence this week that the major fallout which Caribbean countries originally projected would result from the new requirement is not likely to occur. That was the view of former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani who was in downtown Nassau Wednesday night to watch the Winston 'Churchill' Rolle Boxing Day Parade 2006. "People will continue to travel," he said confidently. "The draw of coming to The Bahamas, with the beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, the great golf and most importantly the wonderful people is just too much. People will still come here in big, big numbers, believe me." US officials say the WHTI - which will require all travelers to and from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda to present a passport or other accepted document in order to enter or re-enter the United States - is aimed ultimately at improving border security and facilitating entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate international travelers. Mr. Giuliani said although the WHTI is still slated to come into force on January 23, 2007, against the wishes of tourism-dependent Caribbean countries which had pushed for a later implementation date, the security initiative should not be viewed as an attack on those economies. "Those things are necessary because of all of the concerns that we have in the United States now," he explained. "But it shouldn't be seen as a lack of warmth or friendship. This is a very strong relationship that we have between the United States and The Bahamas. I think that people go back and forth all the time, people live in both countries and it's going to continue to be that way." Mr. Giuliani's profile as New York mayor climbed to a new level following the tragic September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. With some continuing to urge the former mayor to make a run for the presidency of the United States, Mr. Giuliani jested that his political life is "on vacation" when asked by reporters whether he intends to seek the high office. He indicated, however, that he would give more consideration to the question after his return home. Noting that there is currently an exploratory committee which is examining the possibility of his running for US president, Mr. Giuliani said he would make a decision some time next year. Commenting on the highly popular Bahamian cultural event, he said he would be happy to come back to The Bahamas "any time" to view the Junkanoo parade again. Mr. Giuliani's trip to the country this week was his first. "This is absolutely terrific," he said. "I am really, really very much impressed with (the parade). It's much bigger and more beautiful even than I heard about." Mr. Giuliani also had high marks for the country, opining that The Bahamas is a beautiful country with the "nicest and warmest" people. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
