Hammer wrote:GS78 wrote:I have to admit that this thread is somewhat confusing. Exactly what are we discussing here?
Did you read the link in the initial post?
I saw a news clip on the "grope" last night. YIKES! Very few are allowed to handle me like that. I'd have to see who is going to pat me down first. BUT you have a choice! And the default "naked" photo I have no problem with. What is the big deal with the photo? Is it an insecurity thing? For those that have something to hide, you have a choice! Train, auto, boat, get a pilots license... I think about the people in the grocery store who are compelled to walk on the left hand side or in the middle of the isle when I read this kind of non-"issue". Mind out to lunch. Not thinking of the larger picture. Perhaps we need a special plane for these guys...fly at your own risk?
I have a problem with TSA screening and I don't think my mind is out to lunch or that I am missing the big picture. Simply put, the TSA screening is ineffective and pointless. I would go so far as to suggest that it isn't even about airline security and more about conditioning the public. Here are my thoughts on airline security.
First, let's discuss what is a threat to an airliner. I would contend that a box cutter is not a real threat to an airliner unless the people are conditioned to be sheep. This may sound callus, but the airliners which were hijacked on 9/11 were done with an instrument which is barely any threat to an unarmed person...let alone a plane full of people. The only reason they were successful is because the government and LE had been so successful in conditioning the people to rely on government for security. The terrorists made a calculated decision and is it any wonder they choose an airport in a city which is largely full of people which don't believe in protecting themselves? I'd suggest not.
Seriously. Pre 9/11, if I were a jihadi sitting in a training camp and you told me my duty to allah was to hijack an airliner out of Dallas/Ft. Worth with a box cutter, I'd tell you are out of your mind. I'd likely get my a$$ kicked by a dozen cowboys before I could finish praising allah. Now you likely will get your a$$ kicked if you tried that out of any airport, but how long will that last?
Simply put, unless the people don't believe their lives are worth fighting and possibly dieing for (not likely an issue with anyone on this forum, but it is a popular sentiment in certain parts of the country), a knife and even guns are no threat to an airliner. The cockpit doors are now reinforced, there is so much redundancy in the avionics that even a lucky shot won't bring a plane down and even at altitude a full mag of bullets through the skin or an airliner won't cause decompression. The only carry on weapon that is a threat to an airliner is explosives or a biological agent. Everything else at best you can kill a few people before they kill you back...which is contrary to the whole terrorist thinking (I'll cover this next). Explosives are extremely easy to detect with trained dogs and even electronic sensors. None of this requires you to be electronically stripped by the TSA or groped or even having your carry on bags xrayed. Checked baggage is more of a threat than carry on, but that too is easily scanned, but TSA isn't putting that technology for all checked bags.
Biological agents are a difficult one. Simply put, if the agent is sealed detecting it is practically impossible in many cases. A terrorist could also infect themselves and just walk around. However, an airport is a poor target for this kind of attack. There is nothing special about an airliner for a biological attack. A mall during Christmas shopping season or mass transit during rush hour are far better targets. The only case which a biological attack at an airport is under the following conditions:
1. The agent must be easily transmitted.
2. The agent must not show signs of infection or be easily detectable.
3. The agent must have a high probability of death and not not easily treatable.
Then an airport makes sense, but you don't board an airliner. You just act like you are waiting for a person on a flight, perhaps even taking the trouble to know a real flight or even the name of an actually flyer on that airliner so your story holds up if questioned why you are hanging around. Spread the agent to people boarding planes so it spreads to other cities quickly before the act is known. Simply put, biological agents are a b*tch. Thankfully, weaponizing them is not a trivial matter.
In short, the TSA is nothing but security theater. The threats TSA is looking for are only threats to an airliner if the people on the airliner, including the pilots, permit it to be.
Second, the whole idea is basically similar to hostage taking. It isn't actual violence that works, it is the threat of violence and the promise of safety if you just do as your are told. Again, the government told us this how we should behave and not just on airlines. They told us for years that if we are threatened to just comply; get in the car, give them your wallet, etc. Statistics now show that once you do that you are far more likely to be a victim of another crime because the criminal knows they have power over you.
The box cutters worked on 9/11 because of the threat of violence and the promise of safety in exchange for compliance. As soon as a hostage taker or terrorist demonstrates actual violence the people no longer believe the promise of safety. The school board shooting in FL is a great example of sheep. The shooter let some go which reinforced the promise of safety to the point several grown men sat by and watched as a women, who already had safety and more sense then the rest of them, attacked the gunman. Even if a terrorist got a pistol on board, they can't use it without removing the promise of safety. Once they violate that premise, they don't have enough ammo to control the people on that plane.
Lastly, terrorism isn't effective if you only kill one or two people for your life. It isn't gratifying to the terrorists and the populace recognizes it as no more dangerous than violent crime.
If you want real airline security I suggest the following:
1. Hire more air marshals.
2. Rearm responsible citizens when they fly.
3. Scan all checked luggage for explosives.
4. Train lots of bomb dogs and install electronic sensors to detecting such residues.
Do that and the odds of taking down an airliner or flying one into a target is virtually nil.
"Not to worry, I got this !!! " "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Captain John Parker
