I would imagine that working up such an outfit / device is not technologically impossible (and of course we add to this the simple ability to “store” something up one’s colon and in the mouth as well, and it all becomes really quite stupid and silly - and expensive).
But this is the USA, so rather than investing in good human intelligence and a rational reworking of screening processes (à la Israel but also say past UK practice before this nonsense began), one layers on expensive technological non-fixes and run around wringing hands about ‘terror this, terror that.’ All for security…
Correction: The American Government is imposing its Chicken Little irrational reactions on the public. The public actually seems overwhelmingly against this.
The TSA: helping to convert Americans to libertarianism one grope at a time.
I have not noticed a table full of bombs that were picked off travelers.
The next goofy attempt will result in no one being allowed to fly because they might have had a bomb implanted in their abdomen. The new explosive (PETN)does not show on scanners. Therefore nobody should be permitted to fly. In order to be safe,and we have to be perfectly safe, we should walk everywhere.
How about returning to pre-9/11 levels of security, and we all accept that there’s a non-zero (but still trivially small) risk of death by terrorism no matter what we do?
The Israelis do it with a combination of profiling and a very highly trained security force that will ask you questions and be able to spot nervousness, deceit, false information, etc. They also very carefully look at your travel patterns, whether you’re on a one-way ticket, etc.
None of these options are available to the TSA. Racial profiling is not allowed, and there’s no way to hire and retain a workforce that large at a high level of training. So they look for brute-force methods and checklist procedures your average non-educated, non-motivated TSA employee can handle.
People have looked at it to be sure as they do seem a model of well run security.
Reading the above article I wondered why the US does not do this and I have a few thoughts. Note this is speculation on my part:
Israelis have a more homogeneous, relatively speaking, group passing through their airports than we are used to in the US. JFK airport (as an example) will have far more people and a far greater variety at any given time passing through than Ben Gurion Airport I would think. Spotting bad guys in a more mixed crowd has got to be more difficult.
We have many more substantial airports that accept international flights than Israel does (according to this they have 2 international airports and ten domestic airports). Compare that to our list. Quite a difference. Applying their method works well when you have a few airports to cope with. It is more difficult when you have dozens of major airports (somebody gets on a plane in Topeka, Kansas and flies to New York…Topeka needs the same level of protection Ben Gurion Airport sports else it is trivially easy to circumvent the process).
The Israeli’s focus on people, while great, has to be very expensive. Again, it is fine for a few airports but you’d need many thousands of highly trained people in the US to provide that kind of security. I assume the ability to reliably assess people as the Israelis do takes a good deal of training. That is expensive and the people with that level of training are likely to get paid more (they should) than the average schmo waving a metal detector wand around.
I think in general all Israelis take their jobs at security more seriously than Americans do. I doubt the TSA folks are anywhere near as motivated as their Israeli counterparts. Just the culture of being threatened and having terrorist attacks as a regular part of life keeps them on their toes. Their vigilance is ingrained, it is more than just a job.
All that said I think the Israeli system needs to be looked at closely and used as a model to start from. For instance how they react if there is a suspected bomb seems far better than our response and should be doable here.
So what happens if there is an “event” aboard a commercial aircraft, but where everyone aboard was screened by the new procedures and came up clean? How will the TSA manage the spin that something got through? Will cavity searches be next on their list?
“Strip, squat, turn your head and cough, please!”
Will the media ever get wise that it’s all security window dressing? Anyone or group bent on commandeering/destroying a commercial aircraft need just sit back and observe the total airport experience. There are gaping holes to slip through in security that don’t directly involve passenger screening, often created by the airlines and government themselves. Remember back a few years when the checked baggage backups caused airlines to immediately hire extra baggage handlers to handle the mess. It had to be done, right then and there. How many of those baggage handlers were thoroughly screened before employment? How many are still employed by the airlines?
And as has been mentioned before, why board an aircraft to cause mayhem. There are thousands of people in lines at airports waiting to go through security, especially on peak travel days and holidays. A terrorist suicide bomber can take out quite a few people on the unsecured side of the barriers. Several bombers at several airports all on a conference call cell phone conversation could strike across the country simultaneaously. No need for getting through security if you can kill a few hundred/thousand people standing in line. Gee, watch 9/11 happen all over again.
I think airport security is really getting out of hand. I mean, unless someone manages to get a gun on board - it doesn’t seem likely to me that hijacking an airplane is a viable option anymore since the passengers will rise up.
So as long as they can prevent guns from showing up on planes, what is the problem?
Bombs of course - but at some point people are just going to have to deal with the risk. I imagine it is possible for a guy to swallow a bomb prior to going through security, or shove it up his a-hole. Whats next - sticking probes down into people from both ends?
I see people dismissing methods used in Isreal as too hard to implement in the USA, but why? Why have 30 TSA guys sexually assaulting every granny that walks by when you can have 2 or 3 skilled pro’s who profile by race, age & gender and spend their time only with those who are even remotely likely to do anything.
I once read that TSA stood for ‘Thousands Standing Around’, but now I think it means ‘Thousands Sexually Assaulting’
The population of Israel is 7,308,000. The airport in Atlanta alone moves over 43,750,000 every year. That would be akin to shoving the entire population of Israel through the Atlanta airport every two months. Read the article I linked above and imagine having security stop every person before they enter the airport to ask them two questions. You are going to need a LOT more than 2 or 3 skilled pros for that and that is just one layer of the security.
Betting their biggest airport experiences nowhere near such numbers.
Now consider you have New York’s airports, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, LA, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Boston…the list is a long one.
You are talking about a huge number of people to do that everywhere in the US. More than just a large number, they need to be very well trained to be able to spot the bad guys.
Some of what the Israelis do are truly inconceivable in the US merely due to the logistics of it all.
You mean National Opt Out Day? The Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Everyone flying opt out of scanning and insist on a public, pat down search. Watch travel grind to a halt. Perhaps that is what is needed to force the issue with TSA, Congress and so many lazy, selfish Americans.
When I go through the airport I will happily breeze through the scanner and enjoy a less crowded waiting area while everyone insists on getting a pat-down.
I do not fly often enough to be concerned about radiation from the machine and don’t care if some guy is sitting in the booth jerking off to the ghostly image of me on his screen.
I object to all this “borderline sexual assault” stuff. Is your doctor sexually assaulting you if they grab your balls for a hernia check or touch your breasts for a breast exam? Of course not.
These people are doing a job. You know the deal before going in. If you do not like it don’t fly. Flying is not a “right”.
I also seriously doubt the TSA people are getting their jollies doing the job. The truly attractive people going through security are few and far between. Lots of grannies and gramps, obese people and just plain ugly people.
Men grope men, women grope women. I think children are groped by women too (not sure).
Unless you think the TSA agents are predominantly homosexual who get their jollies groping people of all ages, shapes and sizes I think it is safe to say they probably think their job sucks rather than being titillating (and frankly homosexuals would feel the same). And of course all the pedophiles clamoring for a job there.
While it’s not fair to tar these people as pervs for doing their jobs, ‘flying is not a right’ does not justify the stupidity of these screenings or make them any less invasive.
