'Are you terrorist?'

The other day in my homeland security class the students got into a rather heated debate about searches, pat-downs, full body scanners, metal detectors, profiling, etc. The general consensus was that none of these procedures guaranteed our safety and were more about showing the government as doing something rather than nothing. The Daily Mail article is a rather lengthy piece that gets to the hear of the problem. In the United States, we are still focused on finding the weapon instead of finding the terrorist. The Israelis use a rather elegant series of selectors (polyglot females who ask questions while looking for signs that the individual may be upset or uncomfortable)/ If the selector's concerns are raised, the individual is the sent for a baggage screening. If the person fails to comply or seems to become more agitated, they are then isolated and interrogated by law enforcement officials. The means by which the Israelis accomplish all of this is man-power intensive (not to mention the cost of training the selectors and interrogators) and probably not feasible for the US to implement on a wide scale. However, the basic principle of focusing on finding the terrorist and not the means of attacks should become our focus.

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European Airlines Say US Security Goes Overboard

The British introduced layered security to their airports a decade or more before we ever heard of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or Osama Bin Laden. The Provisional Irish Republican Army's (PIRA) fondness for remotely detonated bombs forced British security to adopt new methods of what we now call homeland security. Therefore, I find their comments about our airport security procedures to be especially well founded. It has always seemed superfluous to me to remove shoes and pull laptops out of the luggage. We already are passing through scanners, metal detectors, and ion scanners (used for detecting chemical traces on surfaces). These additional steps really don't add anything to the process except additional time and opportunity for bottle necks whenever someone forgets to remove an item.

The article goes on to point out the biggest grievance I have with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), namely a complete lack of reviewing policies and procedures. Once a new policy or process is implemented, the TSA does not go back and review the efficacy of the new practice. Take removing your shoes as an example. This was done in reaction to Richard Reid's attempt in 2002 to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes. Only the United States requires shoe removal and other than Reid's failed attempt, I cannot find any other instance of an attempt to smuggle explosives in shoes. Of course while we were busy removing our shoes, Abdul Muttalab hid liquid explosives in his underwear. The two cases should have the TSA focused on detecting the chemical signatures and not the means by which they chemicals are being smuggled. While I hate to think of this what if someone figures out how to either swallow a condom filled with one chemical while hiding the other chemical in another body cavity? Sounds far fetched and gross until you realize this is how drug smugglers have been doing it for years.

The basic problem is unlike Europe, which has small countries with only a handful of international airports, we have dozens of international airports with scores of smaller airports. Getting our procedures consistently applied throughout is almost impossible. The TSA needs to seriously re-evaluate what threats they can stop and how best to detect those threats without inconveniencing passengers further. While TSA is busy insuring shoes are removed, how many other transportation nodes are being left vulnerable?

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Kennedy Airport security gaps

By now, you all have heard of Steven Slater who quit his job in a rather dramatic fashion. After cussing out a supposedly abusive passenger, he pulled the ejection slide, grabbed two beers and his carryon and leapt into infamy.

While the media focuses on whether or not his antics where driven by abuse, another story is going largely unnoticed. How did Mr. Slater jump from an airliner in a major airport and manage to get all the way back home (he was arrested by police at his residence)?

According to the New York Daily News, Slater managed to drag to carry on bags around security zones. He caught an AirTrain to his car and drove home. JetBlue waited 25 minutes to alert the Port Authority and the call was from corporate headquarters, not the aircrew.

The story emphasizes the glaring gaps in the TSA. Everything they do is focused on screening passengers. Very little is done to look at gaps in security along the flightline, maintenance facilities, and with service providers (such as food vendors and refueling vehicles). The greatest weakness is the aircraft itself, not the passengers. The TSA is a political answer to a very difficult problem.

As I type this, Secretay Napolitano is announcing a bill that will provide another 1,000 Border Patrol agents. The increase is to address illegal immigrants. The press secretary is standing right next to her correcting mistakes (is it me or does she look doped-up?). I don't see Secretary Clinton anywhere announcing any initiatives to create economic prosperity on the Southern side of the border.

Detroit Bomber

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab fashioned a bomb using pentaerythritol trinitrate (PETN), a colorless and odorless high explosive. He tried to smuggle the bomb inside he underwear and planned to used a chemical igniter to set the bomb off. He planned to board a Northwest Airlines flight in Amsterdam bound for Detroit. According to Abdulmutallab himself, he received the training and materials to make the bomb in Yemen.

The incident created a cascade of embarrassments for world leaders. Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was first quoted as saying the system worked and then changed her statement admitting the system had failed. Not to be outdone, former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff proclaimed that by mandating full body scanners the Detroit bomber could have been prevented. His credibility was immediately questioned when it was revealed that he worked for the one of the manufacturers of full body scanners.

President Obama assured the public that heads would roll. The CIA had identified Abdulmutallab early on and had recommended his name be put on the no-fly list. His name was forwarded to the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) which maintains all of the no-fly lists. Somehow his name was never published. It was also revealed that Abdulmutallab’s father went to the US Embassy to report that he feared Umar had become radicalized. Despite these revelations, Secretary of State Clinton and National Security Advisor Jones have remained out of the spotlight.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown felt his political career slipping away as reports surfaced that MI-5 had information about Abdulmutallab and his plans to board an aircraft with a bomb. Apparently this information was not shared with the Americans or Dutch.

While the world watched the finger pointing, another interesting thing happened in Newark, New Jersey. A man walked the wrong way down the exit terminal. TSA personnel were unable to stop him before he disappeared. TSA locked down the airport for hours as they tried, in vain, to find the individual. Apparently one of the TSA cameras in the terminal had been malfunctioning for six days! It took TSA several more hours to contact Continental Airlines to look at the camera footage. As of this writing, the man’s identity remains unknown.

The world in general, and the United States in particular, has become so enamored of technology that we see it as a solution to human failings. There is no reason why Abdulmutallab should have been able to execute as much as his plan as he did except for people failing to share information. The terrorists have this figured out and are going to continue to exploit it until they get it right.

Chertoff wants whole-body imaging

Typical reaction, rather than review and improve the measures that are currently being used Chertoff wants to buy yet another toy. Technology is important but it wasn't technology that failed in this case but rather communication amongst the CIA, DHS, TSA and other agencies. The lack of communication between agencies is nothing new but whole body scanning is just an unnecessary distraction. Nothing will change until the inter-department BS that lead to this incident is solved.

Michael Chertoff - Former homeland security chief argues for whole-body imaging - washingtonpost.com

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