The United States’ involvement in Iraq is one of the most hotly debated domestic issues today. With such divisive opinions and harsh reactions to policies and troop movements, even the most inane details are highly debated topics. One current issue is President George W. Bush’s initiative to send over 20,000 new troops to Iraq in a “surge” that defense experts say could help amend current problems. Predictably, the issue is split down party lines, with most Republicans supporting the surge and most Democrats opposing it. Democratic congressmen have gone so far as to draft a non-binding resolution opposing President Bush’s proposed troop increase. The House of Representatives is debating the issue this week in what is predicted to be one of the most heated and emotional debates to take place in the Capitol.

One interesting perspective comes from Max Boot, whose column Don’t Just Surge, Strategize originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times on February 12. Mr. Boot and Democratic politicians share many of the same views over the non-binding resolution and the proposed troop surge, but Boot brings up an interesting catalyst to the Iraq dilemma: ID cards. Says Boot:

"Control of the population begins obviously with a thorough census. Every inhabitant must be registered and given a foolproof identity card." Amazingly enough, the Iraqi and American governments have not issued biometric ID cards — something like our drivers licenses, with a fingerprint included — to the populace and have not equipped security forces with portable computer terminals linked to a central database. The lack of such a setup — employed by pretty much every U.S. police department — makes it difficult to tell whether someone stopped at a checkpoint is a wanted terrorist. These aren’t insuperable problems. But they do need to be addressed if the reinforcements being sent to Iraq are to have any hope of success."

According to Boot, ID cards for each citizen of Iraq, presumably accompanied by a thorough census, could help greatly improve the security situation in Iraq, which is currently plagued by sectarian violence caused by small militias and religious insurgent groups. Boot supposes that biometrics information on cards could help eliminate the presence of terrorists in public areas, hopefully lowering deaths and violence, restoring peace and order in violent areas like Baghdad.
Boot’s application of access control to a military situation is nothing new, but would it work? Could a national ID be the fix Iraq needs? A national ID card needs to be secure–our wide selection of ID Card Systems offer many security options from lamination to holographic overlays.