Fearful that terrorists will next target Australia, Prime Minister John Howard broke the silence this week. He reopened the debate on issuing mandated national ID cards.

Those who live topside and think that internal political decisions made down under will have little bearing on our lives, should think again.

A national ID system in Australia will do more than raid that nation of personal liberty. It will set a precedent to be followed by the rest of the world.

So what's the big deal?

Once the national ID card is adopted in Australia, its effectiveness in curbing terrorism, illegal immigration and host of other social ills will be realized. That will make for an easy sell to Americans, Europeans and others weary of what ails society. The national ID will be seen as a quick fix.

The logical progression will lead to an international interlink between nations. An international ID card will be established. Then, to thwart card theft, the business-card sized documents will be replaced with permanent IDs: computer chips implanted in the hand (for convenience) and the forehead (for permanence).

Once established, implanted IDs will lend themselves for other conveniences, such as biotechnical debit cards and health histories.

So long to liberty

Implanted IDs will be effective. They will do wonders to end terrorism, tax evasion, kidnapping, money laundering and even purse snatching. With the exception of the cumbersome act of bartering, implanted IDs will be required for commerce of any kind. No ID implant? No buying and no selling.

While international IDs will provide a panache of benifits, they will also end personal liberty as we know it. And that, many believe, will be a fair exchange.

End of national sovereignty

The move toward internationalism is not new. What is new is a report issued recently by the Council on Foreign Relations. Like John Howard's quest to fend off terrorism, the CFR says terrorism can be held at bay if the Americas will form a coalition similar to the European Union.

Called "Building a North American Community," the plan calls for a "community" (rather than "union") of nations. It also mandates that national borders be replaced with "common perimeters".

Those who believe Americans would never agree to such a blantant abandon of national sovereignty will be surprised to know that conversative Republican George W. Bush has already agreed to the plan. Along with Mexican president Vincent Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, Bush committed the government to the CFR plan on March 23, 2005. That, you will remember, is that date that Bush, Fox and Martin met at Bush's ranch and at Waco, Texas.

What a plan!

In addition to effectively erasing national borders, the plan calls for American taxpayers to provide the following:

"Long-term loans in pesos" to shore up Mexico's economy

A North American Investment Fund to send U.S. private capital to Mexico.

A "permanent tribunal [ie, court] for North American dispute resolution." (And you thought the Supreme Court's decisions were painful.)

"Social Security Totalization Agreement negotiated between the United States and Mexico." That is, illegal immigrants living in the United States and will benefit from the Social Security system, a virtual guarantee of the its collapse.

A fund to finance 60,000 Mexican students to study in U.S. colleges.

The move in Australia to impose a national ID system on that nation's citizens will get little press attention in America, Europe or elsewhere. But once affected and proven effective, Australia's national ID program will be one more step toward internationalism, the demise of national sovereignty and an end to personal liberty.