claire mccaskill proves once again that she isn't real bright. The tsa had absolutely nothing to do with the failure of the Christmas Day underwear bomber. Shoddy bomb making caused his nuts to catch on fire and, well, he was pretty much busted at that point. If you just read mccakill's comment and don't know the rest of the story you would think that some heroic feat by a tsa agent had uncovered the plot. Flaming nuts will give you away almost every time.
As far as using the Israeli model for passenger screening, yes, it is profiling and, yes, it works. Israel has one of the best track records on the planet. When you consider that Israel is completely surrounded by terrorists who want to wipe them off the face of the planet, their techniques must be excellent.
We should adopt those same techniques and those that feel they are racist should just not fly. Instead, the tsa and janet napolitano will continue to violate the rights of people who are not terrorists, never will be terrorists, don't fit the profile for terrorists and the airlines will suffer.
That would be an excellent opportunity for obama and his gang of thugs to take over the airline industry and give it to the unions associated with it. Hmm, dang, I am starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist. But with obama in charge, you never know...
By Joshua Norman - CBSNews
TSA Chief Admits Screenings are "Invasive" But Says They're Necessary to Stay Ahead of Terrorists' New, Non-Metallic Weapons
Transportation Safety Administration chief John Pistole and several senators from both parties defended the new, enhanced airport security screening procedures as necessary in the face of a persistent and evolving terrorist threat in a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Pistole, calm and confident in the face of an increasing public outcry against the procedures, talked extensively about the repercussions of last year's attempted Christmas Day bombing being the impetus for the enhanced screenings before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, TSA's oversight committee.
"We know the terrorists' intent is still there," Pistole testified. "We are using technology and protocols to stay ahead of the threat and keep you safe. (Several near-misses by terrorists on airplane bombings) got through security because we were not being thorough enough in our pat-downs."
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said prior to Pistole's testimony that she believed TSA was in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, because people would be hopping mad at TSA if Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Adbulmutallab had succeeded. She went on to say the new advanced imaging technology--which has caused uproar because of its leave-no-secrets imaging and potential health risks--is more of a blessing than a curse.
"I'm wildly excited that I can walk through a machine instead of getting my dose of love pats," Sen. McCaskill said.
Both senators and Pistole acknowledged the public concern that has made mini-celebrities out of some passengers who have opposed the new imaging scans and enhanced pat-downs. Pistole, a former FBI agent, went so far as to say he submitted himself to the pat-downs and found them to be "more invasive than what I was used to."
Senator George LeMieux of Florida agreed they were invasive, saying they had gone too far and that he "wouldn't want (his) wife to go through these pat-downs." He even suggested looking more at the Israeli model of behavioral profiling in airport screenings, which has been largely successful but also criticized as racist.
However, Pistole defended the pat-downs because of the next generation of "non-metallic" explosives currently being used by terrorists.
In an effort to address privacy and health concerns from travelers, Pistole said TSA is working on developing next-generation imaging equipment that will only show screening agents "anomalies" on top of stick figures, rather than detailed naked figures.
Currently, all passengers going through airport security are asked to submit to a full body image scan when it is available, Pistole said. The body scan images are seen by a single agent in a closed room who cannot see the face of the person in the machine and who cannot bring any cellphones or cameras into the image viewing room. If passengers refuse the body scan, they are offered a private pat-down, which is based on a thorough--some say invasive--technique used by police nationwide. Pistole emphasized that children under the age of 12 are excused from the enhanced pat-downs.
"We are on the last line of defense of the U.S. government," Pistole said. "I hope (these screening techniques) are a deterrence."
