Washingtonpost.com

The European Commission will propose tomorrow that all foreign travelers entering and leaving Europe, including U.S. citizens, should be fingerprinted. If approved by the European Parliament, the measure would mean that precisely identifying information on tens of millions of citizens will be added in coming years to databases that could be shared by friendly governments around the world.

The United States already requires that foreigners be fingerprinted and photographed before they enter the country. So does Japan. Now top European security officials want to follow suit, with travelers being fingerprinted and some also having their facial images stored in a Europe-wide database, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post. U.S. government computers now have access to data on financial transactions; air travel details such as name, itinerary and credit card numbers; and the names of those sending and receiving express-mail packages — even a description of the contents.

“With biometric data, it’s much easier to track people and know who has come in and who has gone out, including possible terrorists,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. “It seems like a steamroller,” said Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch member of parliament who follows privacy and security issues. “There is a new trend in particular in the U.S., the E.U. and Australia to register every single detail of our life. We’re tagged. They can follow everything we do. They know where we are. The whole question is: What for? Does this actually make the world a safer place?”

The Bush administration says it does.

I will be happy to submit my fingerprints, DNA, body scan, facial scan, psych evaluation, sperm sample, laptop, cell phone, contents of my wallet, shoes, socks, toe jam, and anything else necessary to fight terrorism. Have I left anything out?