Monday, December 28, 2009

Ramped up US airport security deepens holiday travel misery

The additional security measures will discourage not only attackers but holiday travelers as well. The increased security measures will just be another reason for travelers (as well as terrorists) to chose options other than air travel. The beleaguered airlines can't withstand much more in the way of reduced air travel.

DHS has never taken a look at their procedures to determine what is effective and what isn't. Any coach will change plays and strategies to thwart his opponents strategy. DHS and TSA follow a standardized set of procedures based more on personnel policy than any counter-terrorism methodology. Standardized procedures allow for easier assessment of personnel performance and to set standards for promotions. The dirty little secret about TSA is they can only screen for what they are trained to detect. If you have a new means of assembling a bomb or explosive that doesn't appear on the TSA training documents, screeners won't recognize it as a weapon. In other words, TSA is about rote memorizing not critical thinking. Even if TSA were trained to use critical thinking, they can only screen outbound passengers at American terminals. They have no ability to screen incoming passengers from outside the United States. They must rely on the security of foreign agencies and airlines to screen out potential terrorists and to detect weapons.

Terrorists are not limited to a particular type of attack and can freely change their methods to suit the target or circumstances. Secretary Napolitano also seems to be contradicting herself; if there is no sign of a larger plot why ramp up security?

Ramped up US airport security deepens holiday travel misery - Yahoo! News

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