So, a bit of a rant here about the massive overreaction by the US government since the attempted christmas terrorist attack. Who else agrees with me that implementing widespread new screening techniques, some of which can take up to 30 seconds PER PERSON seem a bit ridiculous. While I agree that we need to have the best security and pre-flight screening as possible, the US government always seems to be reactive rather than proactive.
The fact remains that the individual in question (who for some reason is still being referred to as the "accused" terrorist which is bullshit in it's own right, that asshole should have no rights, and should be treated as a war crimial) was reported to our government, and was considered to be a terrorist, but they "didn't have enough evidence" to put him on the no fly list. When is the government going to learn there are times when we need to be a bit more pro-active in our attempt to find these people. Not enough evidence? His own father reported that he was concerned with his son's extremism.
Essentially what I am getting at is that I am appaled that the government is going to try and revamp the TSA, implementing new procedures that are going to make traveling in this country an absolute nightmare. Security lines are going to be outrageous and now if I suddenly have to take a shit because of the crappy food I inhaled on the way to my gate, I won't be able to do so if we are within an hour of landing... We need to realize that it is an intelligence issue, not a security/screening issue. Al Queda is probably sitting there in Yemen laughing at us, knowing that not only are they succeeding in bringing our transportation system to a crawl, but also knowing they can accomplish their goals in a number of other ways that the government isn't/can't address. Think about subways, trains, bridges, tunnels... Are we going to start strip searching every person before they get on a subway for their morning commute, or screening every truck before it goes into a tunnel? No, we aren't.
Screening and security measures are NEVER going to eliminate terrorism. We need to be proactive and do things to stop terrorists before they get tickets, or get into this country. Doing more screens isn't going to accomplish anything more than aggravating the millions of Americans that rely on our airlines and airports every day. It is precisely what the terrorists are trying to do. They may have failed in their attempt to murder those on the Xmas flight, but they have now succeeded in potentially crippling our national infrastructure.
Thoughts?
There was an interesting article about this you might like written by Mean Street's Evan Newmark.
It's to cover up for the fact that they failed on the ground to keep that guy off the plane. They want people to think they're competent, but proved they aren't.
I think anyone who has dealt with TSA personnel know that already. Steven Levitt made an interesting note in Superfreakonomics that Richard Reid, despite failing at this bombing, levied a tax on US productivity due to security time wasted on testing shoes that's the equivalent of a little over a dozen lives each year based on rough calculations. This incident can only work in a similar fashion.
TSA security is a joke and serve as a low level deterrent to those who may want to cause random mayhem. Anyone dedicated to the completion of a terrorist attack could utilize many other ways to bypass security. All a group needs is for one confederate to acquire a job at the airport for a few weeks as anything from janitor to baggage personnel and getting weapons through security becomes a non-factor. Security does not provide me with an illusion of safety, but I know my odds are heavily in favor of not being in a terrorist attack.
Any chance this whole thing was a set-up to give the government another excuse to add more security measures and take away more civil rights (adding on to the Patriot Act and such)... That seems like a more plausible explanation than a suspected terrorist going through unnoticed. I mean gimme a break.
Not enough evidence to put on the no fly list....BS. They could have at least flagged his name for extra security scans needed, they did that for my father- it was like 2 years before he could get removed. They could have done something if the government wanted to, Clinton was offered Osama, ICE and INS kew about KSM and the other attackers. In fact the government seized KSM's laptop which held plans about 9/11 and all the attackers were in America on expired visas. The government knows about the terrorists in this country but the bureaucracy and need for too much evidence before prosecution/action is what is destroying our counterterror operations
I'd rather lose some minor "rights' than to have some idiot try dumbshit before I jiujitsu their ass
Once again, MORE freedom is the answer - not less.
My suggestion (and I'm dead serious) is to do away with airport security altogether and allow passengers to carry firearms. You're responsible for your own security on the subway, aren't you?
Edmundo, not sure if I would go that far, but I like the concept. Let people police themselves.
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