IP: "REALITY RESET": "Peering Into Airport Security"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2001 11:43:00 -0800 (PST)
> Subject: "REALITY RESET": "Peering Into Airport Security"
> From: reality () vortex com ("Reality Reset")
> To: Reality-List () vortex com
>
>
>                              "REALITY RESET"
>
>                       http://www.vortex.com/reality
>
>                                    by
>
>                   Lauren Weinstein (lauren () vortex com)
>
>                         = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>
>                             December 24, 2001
>
>                              Today's Edition:
>
>                       "Peering Into Airport Security"
>
>                 http://www.vortex.com/reality/2001-12-24
>
>                         = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>
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>                         = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>
>
>  "Peering Into Airport Security" (December 24, 2001)
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> Greetings and happy holidays.  Almost exactly one year ago,
> in a "Reality Reset" column entitled "Love Thy Missiles"
> (http://www.vortex.com/reality/2000-12-30), I spoke to defense analyst
> "Buck" Turgidson about the realities of missile defense and security
> systems.  At that time, Buck expressed considerable skepticism about
> airline security measures.  In the light of events since then, I thought
> it appropriate to have another chat with him.
>
> "Buck, thanks for joining me again," I said.
>
> "I'm glad to be back, though I certainly wish it was under
> more pleasant circumstances," said Buck.
>
> "Indeed.  But certainly you'd agree that in the wake of September 11th,
> the government and the airlines have really gotten their acts
> together regarding terrorism, haven't they?"
>
> "Lauren, like I told you before, security tends to be about
> perceptions and money, not about real protection.  Little has really
> changed in terms of the potential risks as far as commercial
> airline travel is concerned."
>
> "How is that possible?" I asked.  "Look at all the stuff they pull out of
> people's carry-on luggage.  They're even forcing lots of folks to take
> their shoes off at the airports so their footwear can be x-rayed!"
>
> "That's all true.  But outside of the possibility that the resulting
> smell might scare away a potential terrorist, it's still really basically
> the same old tune," said Buck.
>
> "But the new security seems almost airtight," I said.  "People are even
> having their fingernail clippers confiscated!"
>
> "Sure, but they're still carrying pens and keys onboard, which can be
> much more effective weapons than a half-inch fingernail clipper blade!
> Or how about a sharpened belt buckle?  Or ..."
>
> "Well, I didn't really think about those sorts of things," I said.
>
> "No?  Well you can be sure that the bad guys do!  You want something else to
> worry about?  What's going to happen when suicide bombers start to show up
> with explosive systems that they've swallowed or had surgically implanted,
> or with explosives and weapons hidden in other spots where the sun doesn't
> shine?  Do you think that the traveling public will accept body cavity
> searches and penetrating body x-rays before every flight?  That'll be just
> great for tourism."
>
> "Well, at least the government's doing the right thing when it comes to
> scanning of checked baggage -- they're buying all those new bomb detectors,"
> I said.
>
> "Lauren, it's completely possible for a terrorist to build a device that
> would have a very high likelihood of not being detected by those systems,
> but still be capable of exploding or starting a catastrophic fire."
>
> "Buck, you're scaring the hell out of me."
>
> "That's the idea, Lauren.  If you want to have real security, you need to
> have highly-trained persons hand inspect every single item of carry-on and
> checked luggage, plus every bit of cargo.  And I wasn't joking about the
> 'inside and out' body searches, either.  A tiny airline like El Al might be
> able to manage such things, but do you have any concept of what would happen
> to the large airlines and the airline industry in general?  Kiss them
> goodbye."
>
> "There must be some alternative, Buck," I said.
>
> "Well, yes.  If you look at recent events, you see mainly intelligence
> failures, not technology failures.  Some of the 9-11 hijackers were already
> on watch lists.  The fellow who tried to light up his shoes on that flight
> from Paris had actually been questioned by officials at the airport the day
> before, resulting in his missing that day's flight.  But the next day, he
> apparently didn't undergo any special scrutiny when he tried again
> successfully.  The key is to focus your attention on specific individuals
> whose actual *behavior* is suspicious, rather than trying to track and
> screen people in general.  It's easy to get into a very abusive
> situation when you start treating everyone like criminals.  And you still
> don't solve the problem of terrorism that way."
>
> "So if the problem is mainly on the human side of the equation, how come
> most of the focus seems to be on buying new security equipment?  They're
> supposedly going to be spending billions!"
>
> "Lauren, I explained this to you last time.  There's relatively little money
> in the human intelligence game.  The big bucks are in the expensive
> gadgets.  Plus, the machines buy you a degree of deniability.  When
> something goes wrong, you can blame the machine, not some individual who
> dropped the ball on an investigation."
>
> "Buck, you've certainly painted a dark picture for the future
> of the airlines."
>
> "Oh, it's not all bad.  After all, they did stop serving meals on most
> flights.  Considering the quality of airline food, I consider that a plus,"
> said Buck.
>
> "I can always count on you to find a silver lining," I replied.
>
> = = = = = =
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren () vortex com
>
> For information about the author, please see:
> http://www.vortex.com/lauren
>
> = = = = = = = = = = = = =
>
> Copyright 2001 by Vortex Technology.  All rights reserved.
> This item may be freely redistributed so long as it is complete
> and includes this notice.

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