The face of a system failure
Officials are quick to point out that:The age listed in the passport was 26. The man who presented the document to security officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport was 40. His face bore only a passing resemblance to the photograph.
Yet, Luis Guaman cleared security without incident last month and boarded a plane for his native Ecuador using an Ecuadoran passport in the name of Segundo Castro.
"...the priority for airport security is not catching fleeing felons, but rather “to keep the airplane from falling out of the sky.’’So here's my question for the TSA, then:
If you don't check the validity of the passport to insure that the person getting on the plane is precisely who they claim to be, what the hell is the purpose of having a "no fly" list?
Transparent Security Agency is a better name for it...
That is all.
8 comments:
"...the priority for airport security is not catching fleeing felons, but rather “to keep the airplane from falling out of the sky.’’
Then why are they harassing people carrying more than a few hundred bucks in cash? Will a suitcase of money drop a plane?
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-20/us/tsa.lawsuit_1_tsa-answer-question?_s=PM:US
Now there's a level of incompetence that could only be achieved by a Federal agency...
I'm astounded, really. Wouldn't this guy possibly be the type who could make an airplane fall out of the sky?
Certainly a fleeing felon wouldn't be the type of person to be a 'flight risk'.
The no-fly list is only referenced at ticket purchase and check-in. For domestic flights TSA by law cannot even require that you provide a photo ID. All they HAVE to check is that you have a valid boarding pass and that you have no items on you that are contraband or otherwise illegal.
Security Theater is defined by the TSA.
"......there is nothing in place right now, that I’m aware of, where that [Transportation Security Administration] agent can do anything with that passport other than look at it"
Meaning other than verifing that the name on the ticket matches the name on the ID and the photo on the ID matches the person presenting it????
Isn't THAT what they are supposed to do?? You don't go thought US Passport Control leaving the US.
( Although most other countries DO seem to be interested that everyone who enters on a tourist visa also leaves the country so thay all have outbound passport contol stations.)
It's passing strange that the TSA boasts on it's blog and website about finding drugs on peopele, but then when someone slides through with a poorly faked passport, claims that they specialize in only finding people who pose a threat of blowing up or crashing planes.
So, if they do something that they aren't chartered to do, they claim it's part of their mission, but if they don't do something that they are chartered to do, suddenly it's NOT part of their mission.
We need this agency why?
Far be it from me to defend the TSA; I'm one of their harshest critics. The agency shouldn't even exist, as far as I'm concerned.
That said, their mission is not to detect fleeing felons, nor another other general law enforcement purpose. They have one purpose: the physical security of commercial airplanes, to make sure they're not blown up, hijacked, or used as weapons.
The argument against the no-fly list and ID requirements is logical: if someone is thoroughly screened to the point we're confident they have no weapons, is their name or ID really important? Of course not. If OBL and KSM can clear the screening process, go ahead and let them board while holding hands; if they have no weapons, what does it matter?
There's a reason the TSA agents aren't law enforcement officers: it's the only way they can conduct unwarranted searches.
When they find "stuff" unrelated to security and report it to LE, or if they conduct searches while LEOs watch (LEOs who aren't allowed to conduct the same searches because of 4A issues), then we've got a 4A constitutional issue.
Anyhoo... yeah, it's never about security, it's only about theater, and getting gold stars for catching "stuff" that isn't within their purview.
If all TSA is suppose to do is check boarding passes and look for "contraband" at airports Why are they now performing searches at rail stations and bus stations.
Post a Comment