Interpac Business and Migration Solutions Melbourne Australia

January 5, 2010

AUSTRALIANS flying to the US will face more vigorous security procedures, including possible pat-down searches, special bag searches and explosives screening after the US introduced enhanced airline security yesterday.

For most countries that will mean more people undergoing enhanced screening, such as explosives trace swabs, body searches and - where available - body imaging. But for residents of 14 ''terrorism-prone'' countries, all passengers will be given intensive screening, which will include pat-downs and bag searches by hand.

The measures apply to all ''passengers with passports from or itineraries through State Sponsors of Terrorism and 'countries of interest','' the Transport Safety Authority said.

Memos have been sent to all major airlines informing them of the new procedures. Countries specified as ''state sponsors of terrorism'' are Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

Countries considered ''prone to terrorism'' include Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Algeria. A full list was not released.

The upgraded security comes in response to the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253 to Detroit on Christmas Day. A Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who says he trained with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen, has been charged with attempting to blow up the plane with an explosive, PETN, sewn into his underwear.

The latest upgrades to security came as the Continental Airlines terminal at Newark airport, outside New York City, went into lockdown yesterday and flights were grounded after security footage showed a person passing through the exit to the secure area, avoiding screening. The person could not be found. The security breach occurred on one of the busiest evenings of the year, as Americans were returning from their Christmas break.

All passengers were moved back to the ticketing area for rescreening and flights were grounded.

US President Barack Obama was on his way back to Washington overnight on Sunday and was expected to spend Monday with his security and intelligence advisers and the heads of agencies, reviewing the findings of a preliminary investigation into how Abdulmutallab was not detected, and the situation in Yemen.

It is possible that the US will encourage the Yemeni Government to launch further strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Yemen, but the two strikes before Christmas may have dispersed the leadership of the terrorist group.

Acknowledging the heightened threat that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula now poses, the US and Britain shut their embassies in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday.

US deputy national security adviser John Brennan warned that ''until the Yemeni Government gets on top of the situation with al-Qaeda, there is a risk of attacks''.

The Obama Administration is under pressure from Republicans and some Democrats over the repatriation of Yemenis being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Two Yemeni men who were released by the Bush administration were later found to have returned to fight with al-Qaeda in Yemen.

The six transferred by the Obama Administration are being held in a Yemeni prison and will reportedly be held indefinitely, but the Administration faces a political and logistic challenge over what to do with the remaining 90 Yemeni detainees, who are not likely to face charges.

(Source from Theage.com.au)