Forget Dubai Controlling Our Ports. We've Got A Bigger Threat. TSA: A 100% Failure Record. And They're Proud of It, Too! It's tough to get off the topic of aviation security. Unfortunately, the TSA is on a roll. First, Chertoff's threat - give him more money to waste, or there'll be trouble. Then we had repeated and dangerous security incidents at airports around the nation. Now, yet another fun scandal. By now, we've all heard of the GAO study that found the TSA failed a perfect 21 out of 21 times to stop what amateur terrorists would do to get explosives onto airplanes. Unfortunately, that's not the scandal. What this study really illuminated is just how arrogant and morally-corrupted the TSA leadership really is, and how terribly vulnerable we are to a terrorist attack due to devoutly-stupid leadership. See, according to the TSA brass, completely missing bomb-making components is a great indication of how safe air travelers really are. (Hey, it's worked in the past - when they're caught red-handed, the TSA just jives it with gibberish.) The deal in the GAO study was to get bomb-making components through the screening point, and then assemble them on the other side. During the course of the study, GAO investigators were able to achieve this without a single problem. Great news for all our al Qaeda buddies, sort of a Trusted Terrorist program. But needless to say, professional and well-trained terrorists wouldn't likely take this path - they have too many other easy portals to the AOA - air cargo, fuel farms, catering facilities, cleaning crews, construction work, just to name a few. As we noted last week, for a trained terrorist, getting onto a secure AOA is like going to the 7-11 for a Slurpee. So what this GAO report means is that the TSA is so ineffective that it can't even stop amateur bombs from getting through. This isn't the first time they've failed. (Remember Nathaniel Heatwole?) The proof is clear: in protecting the nation's airports, the TSA is about as effective as using a roll of Charmin as body armor. The Results Were Bad. The Response Flippant & Dishonest. Again demonstrating that truth is a foreign concept at the TSA, their Glorious Leader, Skip Hawley, has hailed the GAO findings as proof of his great stewardship of the nation's airport security. Get a load of his 3/18 memo to the TSA rank and file: "... The GAO report, while still classified, supports TSA's conclusion that we must focus on finding and stopping those who would bring bomb parts onto an aircraft... I am proud of the work that our TSOs do every day. Americans can be confident that TSA is working closely with the entire security community to stop terrorists and protect the traveling public..." Baghdad Bob, apparently, has landed a job ghost-writing for the TSA. After billions of dollars lavished on the TSA, Hawley's team failed 21 out of 21 times to find explosive components, and instead of taking action, this bozo tells the nation that he's proud of the quality of the screening. Americans can be confident, all right. Confident that the TSA is run by total nincompoops who think they're above the truth and that the flying public is a pack of gullible idiots. Let's recap: the TSA failed in stopping some GAO investigators who have no terrorist training, yet Hawley has the dishonest chutzpa to claim that the TSA is protecting the nation against terrorists. Note that he made no call for any reform. He made no apology to the American people. Nothing but a totally disingenuous memo telling the world that failure to stop explosives validates the TSA as a great success. Even North Korea would have a hard time meeting this standard of fantasy PR. Fact: TSA Management - Gutless and Unqualified. Let's get to the bottom line: Hawley needs to find another career, and W should be working on it right now. Hawley's very presence at the TSA must be giving a lot of comfort to all the folks in Terrorist Town. In other words, Hawley's type of leadership is a threat to national security. Worse than that, an earlier written response from the TSA Department of Propaganda stated that the test the GAO conducted and the conclusions that terrorists would even try to get such components through screening were outlandish, and not credible. More proof that the TSA has lost it completely. A few years ago, no doubt, these same people would have deemed the potential of suicide terrorists flying airliners into buildings as "somewhat outlandish," too. What's worse, is that some folks in the media have noted that the TSA has refused to send a real, live person to comment and to answer questions on this GAO report. Instead, the TSA has only issued carefully-worded prepared press releases. The reason is clear: They're hiding. Conclusion: It's time to stop the nice-nice. This ain't no disagreement at the local PTA. There are nasty people out there who want to blow up airplanes and airports. As a defense, we've established a TSA bureaucracy that can't even stop a GAO investigator from getting through. Tell It Like It Is: The Emperor Has No Security. So, let's dump the protocol and state the obvious truth. The ineptitude of Hawley and the TSA are dangerous to national security. To tolerate this, to defend this, to accept this type of leadership, puts lives at risk. Worse, Hawley and his top team are gutless, which isn't a desirable trait when we're trying to counter people who want us dead. Fact: Hawley and his patronage henchmen don't have the courage, the professionalism, nor the integrity to stand up and admit what is an outrageous failure. Let's be blunt, because lives are at stake - in a word, they are morally and ethically a pack of cowards. Cowards who run and hide from the media when things get tough. Cowards who are in charge of airport and transportation security. Cowards who're telling the world that their security failures are really indications of success. Cowards that should be fired, right now. The Silence Is Deafening. And Dangerous. Of course, firing Hawley isn't in the cards. Heck, in some circles, it's no doubt felt as being unfair and irresponsible to even suggest that as TSA chief Hawley is what he is - unqualified and a coward who hides behind the skirts of his paid PR hacks when failures like this GAO study are discovered. But that's the truth. Unfortunately, in Washington, and in some Alphabet groups, telling the truth about what needs to be done is too often considered to be tacky. The Administration, as well as lots of folks in congress, not to mention the people at the top of groups like the AAAE (which, by the way, insists on giving clowns like this awards for "excellence"), would rather talk in non-focused circles, carefully trying to avoid assigning responsibility instead of simply stating the truth - that people at the top of the TSA are dangerously inept. Political connections are important, don't ya know. Then there's the total quiet coming from the gaggles of politically-motivated soapbox-seekers we usually hear from. Strange, isn't it? Here we have the TSA completely failing across the nation to detect what almost certainly any amateur terrorist would attempt to do. It's a basic security concept, yet the TSA failed it again and again. It shows beyond doubt that another 9/11-level terrorist attack would be as easy - maybe easier - than it was on the morning of 9/11. So where's the outrage from those alleged "representatives" of 9/11 families? Where's the outrage from those Washington labor groups who are so incensed over letting pocket knives on airplanes? Where's the outrage from the Washington Alphabet groups who supposedly represent the interests of aviation? There isn't any, because most of these entities are in it not for the purposes of better security, but for political ends. Not one of them, not one, has come out calling for what's really needed - a total tear-down of the TSA bureaucracy that's now beyond any question a threat to national aviation security. The New Security Oversight: Heads In The Sand. Even Congressman Mica, who requested the GAO study, has sat on his hands, preferring to comment that the findings are "disturbing." Memo to Mica: How "disturbed" are you going to be when a real terrorist, instead of some GS-14 investigator, gets through and kills a terminal full of passengers? Mica, you know that the TSA is a threat, and not doing anything about it makes you just as culpable as Hawley. Even the head of that National Scandal, the 9/11 Commission, Gov. Tom Kean, did his rendition of Captain Louie Renault, expressing shock! over something he's known for years: "I'm appalled. I'm dismayed and, yes, to a degree, it -- it does surprise me because I thought the Department of Homeland Security was making some progress on this. And, evidently, they're not..." What's appalling is the blatant stupidity the 9/11 Commission represented. Mr. Kean, you, sir, are either incompetent or dishonest, or perhaps you've been off in a far-away land contemplating your navel for the past four years. In light of all the failures of the TSA, including this latest one, there isn't any way a person with the access to the data Kean has could ever honestly make a statement like that. Another political coward. TSA: Clueless In San Diego. And In The Rest of The Nation, Too. The real situation was summed up last week after a TSA-induced security breach at San Diego. (This in addition to more TSA failures at DCA and at Tulsa, by the way.) A security official commented regarding the SAN failure: "I don't know what else they can do, searching bags, using dogs -- I don't know what else can be done..." That, friends, sums up exactly why the TSA is a failure. Unfortunately, we can assume the terrorists do know what else they can get done. (c) 2006, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved ________________
The only people they routinely hassle is old women and the military! I can't tell you how many times I have been in uniform and had to literally strip down to my trousers in a little glass booth so they could search me. And this part, I am not kidding, while in Kileen Texas, while being stripped searched, a Arabic guy in a fancy suit walked right through!!! I pointed the guy out to the inspector and when I walked away, I turned and told the man, "I hope this gives you a story to tell your kids some day"
Of coarse, after all if they let a US soldier in uniform through and an 80 year old white granny and looked over the 4 middle easter 25 year old guys then that would be racial profileing. That whole concept has always seemed totaly stupid to me. I mean even though its been put in most folks mind to look at it with disdain and call it racist the simple fact is that race can be used quite efectively to pick out likely trouble maker. Not that its nesicarily one particular race. If you see a white guy reasonably well dressed in a decent car driveing around the projects late at night, the odds are he isnt headed to his apartment there from his job at the fast food joint. The majority of times he is likely to be looking for a hooker or drugs. If you see a car with half a dozen black or hispanic teen or early 20s males in red or blue bandanas cruiseing through the uperclass suburban neighborhoods in the middle of the night then they most likely are not selling girl scout cookies. Not all of the people in these situations are going to be guilty of anything but just as the man useing a screw driver to open a window late at night may have just locked himself out of his house, the likelyhood of it being criminal is such that it bears further investigation to determin whats going on. A lot the same with stoping all midle easterners in airports. While it is a small minority of those of midle eastern desent who are trying to blow us up, almost all of the folks trying to blow us up are of middle eastern desent and mostly between 18 an 40, so how is it anything but the most basic of common sence that when you have at least this much of a description of who is most likely going to try to kill Americans that you look far more heavily at those who fit this description and dont worry so much about the people who dont fit any portion of the description of those who are trying to kill us. Rant off.
I agree with MM. old saying taken further those who can do, those who can't teach and those who can't do and can't teach go into government and rise to the highest levels including presidency. end of my rant
unfortunately that's the state of oursystem. If the "appearance of security "takes a slight hit passenger confidence falls,the airline industry is scraping by now, how many billions of bucks would be lost? what would the lobbyist do with their "campaign" contributions? No argument; we are screwed if we can't get past not offending middle easterners.I think kieth olberman has agreat rant on you tubewhere he says " if muslims don't want to see the west through razor wirethey may want try not blowing things up, rioting and beheading peoplefor awhile"!!!
