A US National ID Begins To Take Root

In the aftermath of the Al Qaeda attacks on 9/11, the US government realized that the lack of effective identity credentials for use in domestic air travel was a contributing factor in the attacks' effectiveness. Several initiatives have since been launched to create a more effective means of positively identifying and credentialing persons traveling into and within the US. Three of these initiatives, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), enhanced driver's licenses (EDL), and REAL ID, have set the stage for the emergence of de facto national digital identity credentials. Stronger government proofing of identity before issuing these credentials will provide a little cost to the private sector but will provide it with the ability to positively identify individuals in commercial processes, from banking transactions to hotel registrations.