A lot of people are going to applaud Fortress America.
I can tell everyone that this is a double edged sword.
People in International Business increasingly will say, screw it, I will do business with Canada then, or I will invest my money in India, or China or Abu Dhabi or Dubai or Singapore.
It’s not just international business (well, primarily that, but...): last minute tourist deals are going up in smoke, too. But more than that, as you suggest, it leaves the over-hanging sense that the US is simply not a welcoming place, and that’s going to hurt tourism from those who would have bought their tickets months in advance, as well.
I personally don’t welcome this move. Screen more heavily if need be, but I don’t like seeing this sort of action with nations like the UK and Australia with which we have had such long-standing relations.
The world can go screw itself, for all the use it has been over the last seven years.
Please. Ever heard of conference calling and fax machines?
Maybe this will wake the Brits up as to the Muzzies they welcome so much.
The double edge has already started. I've been going to Japan about once a year for many, many years and it's always been pretty quick and easy to get past immigration. Now, though, they've implemented tit-for-tat rules in response to US rules. This time it took two hours to get through. I got fingerprinted, questioned, etc. If this is what the future of international travel is going to look like, I and a lot of others like me are going to start traveling less. Standing in line in immigration for two hours after a 14-hour flight makes the trip not worth it as often (not to mention the one-hour train ride into town).