Cargo threat

The news is abuzz about the ink cartridges bombs placed in cargo shipments in London and Dubai bound for synagogs in Chicago. The story illustrates a huge gaps that TSA and other security agencies continue to perpetuate. The TSA in particular focuses all of its manpower and technology on screening passengers while virtually ignoring cargo shipments. When airlines installed lockable cabin doors on their cockpits, the cargo industry was largely exempt. Part of the reason for this imbalance is the sheer volume of cargo. Ask any US Customs inspector working the ports on the East coast. They are lucky if they can stop 10 percent of the total volume of shipping containers for additional searches. The TSA is not equipped nor staffed to start checking cargo airports. But this latest threat does show that we are not as safe as we think, even with passengers removing their shoes.