Hi there Dragon,

I could write for hours on this but I will keep it short, or as short as possible. I don't know where you are from, and it is NOT true for ALL countries but in the the case of the US and their citizens the answer is HOMELAND SECURITY and TAXES. One of the reasons that the US embassy staff wants Americans to "register" abroad is to keep track of who is paying taxes and where the money is. This is why you see new enforcement efforts with money sniffing dogs at US airports literally standing on the gate leading into the aircraft now. That is called enforcing capital controls. This year the US government will also BLOCK any US passport applications for citizens owing back taxes, EVEN IF it is an error. As you might know, anytime there is a major disaster the only thing that the US embassy staff tell their citizens is to stay in doors, don't look conspicuous, and avoid conflicts and large gatherings. They offer no assistance and most of the staff in most of those dumps are all local hires that can barely speak English anyway and so they cannot help you anyway and in fact they have absolutely no motivation to do so anyway. The "registration" is a complete waste of time but what it does do is help them,(the US government), keep track of you.

Back Taxes?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/12/study-suggests-feds-recoup-billions-unpaid-taxes-withholding-passports/

Homeland Security has agents all over the world working in US embassies and in US consulates and a large part of what they do is keep an eye on Americans. They are looking for most anyone that does not agree with their latest witch hunts and who can easily be labeled as being extremist in nature. The senior staff at the Pentagon this year stated that war protesters are now deemed to be "low-level terrorists". You will find the maggots of the Homeland Security crew loitering around at American ex-pat hangouts, joining American clubs, events, etc., and of course, they are out collecting what is commonly referred to as open source intelligence. In fact, you cannot even go to the embassy if you are an American anymore without first logging onto the embassy Web site and giving them all of your life story and then getting an appointment. Of course, that data is immediately fed into big brother's data bases and with the US Consular section now getting police powers in order to share and access expanded data bases, it is a total police state scenario.

If you happen to be a Muslim and you travel overseas...that's also getting very interesting as the airlines now share all of your personal data and that would include meal preferences which of course flags you as a Jew or as a Muslim. With the recently updated Patriot Act the FBI can go pull your American library records to see what you are reading and if you happen to be studying Middle East politics, or Muslim studies and then maybe check out a book on America's nuclear power plants, you'll be getting a visit at your home, and the same is true for big box retailers that now hand over credit card data concerning purchases of food that tend to be associated with Muslims. Let's call that ETHNIC SHOPPER SNOOP.

Here is an interesting article or two, and just a few of the many that are available by credible 3rd party independent sources...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-9812473-46.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,59262,00.html

FBI Snooping into Your Books???

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/politics/26patriot.html

If you are ever over at the Kerry Center in Beijing sometime take a look at the business listings downstairs in the lobby. As I recall you will see the IRS, DEA, Homeland Security and a few other federal agencies there. That's a bit far from their otherwise routine and regular jurisdiction. You don't actually think those agencies are here watching Chinese people do you? Here is the telephone number for the DEA field office in Beijing.
8610-8529-6880

Most Americans simply have no idea what is going on around them.

Look up Rex 84, NSDP51, and HSDP20, powers of FEMA, Operation Garden Plot, Operation Trojan Horse, Operation Cable Splicer, and FEMA prisons, Gunderson Steel, I could go on. You can Google all of them. The new RFID chips in the US passports are also a lovely edition to track US citizens. They of course claim that it is for security but if that were true all they really need to do is take the fingerprints of all Americans applying for passports and simply conduct a hand scan on exit and re-entry into the USA like they do for millions of tourists every month. Of course that would become a privacy issue, but most Americans in the interest of the "war on terror" would bow down and let that Bill be passed into law too.

While all of that insanity is going on, the US keeps handing over billions of dollars to nations that hate the USA.

I think that is enough band width to give some people a few clues and to answer your question.