Thomas Friedman of the New York Times writes that the WikiLeaks cables contain a very sobering message: America is leaking leverage and the power that comes with it.
Fifty years ago, the world was shaped in a certain way, to promote certain values, because America had the leverage to shape it that way. We have been steadily losing that leverage because of our twin addictions to Middle East oil and Chinese credit — and the WikiLeaks show just what crow we have to eat because of that.
Here is a story that has to make you feel good about our nation’s airport security screening system.
Mikey Hicks, an 8-year-old Cub Scout from Clifton, N.J., pictured at right, has a hard time traveling because he shares the same name of a person who has drawn the suspicion of the Homeland Security Department.
His mother tells The New York Times she sensed trouble when her son was a baby and she couldn’t get a seat for him at a Florida airport. She says airline officials explained his name “was on the list.” He was then patted down as a 2-years-old at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The newspaper says the boy’s name appears to be among 13,500 on the “selectee” list, which sets off a high level of security screening. Transportation Security Administration spokesman James Fotenos says the agency will cross-check names with birth dates and gender in the coming months.
Yeah, that would be a good idea. Although I guess you can never be too careful about a pint-size terrorist posing as a Cub Scout. And you thought there was a lot of red tape for Pinewood Derbies.
