|
Originally published in The New York Times on Sunday, June 6, 2004 (Section 4; Column 4; Editorial Desk; Pg. 12). The National Academies report the letter references is IDs -- Not That Easy: Questions About Nationwide Identity Systems.
To the Editor:
Re "A National ID" (editorial, May 31):
You call for a study on the ramifications of a United States identity card.
The framework for making decisions about this potential undertaking was laid out in a 2002 study from the National Academies' Computer Science and Telecommunications Board.
In creating such a system, many questions need to be answered. But first we should get past this one: What specific problems will an identity system solve?
Without a blueprint for what we are trying to accomplish, a truly useful system will be impossible to build.
Wm. A. Wulf
President
National Academy of Engineering
Washington, June 2, 2004
|