“Pistole said TSA is preparing to move to an approach that employs more conversation with travelers -- a method that has been employed with great success in Israel.” --- oh ... well, that makes it a good idea
On Aug 2, 7:54 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > The Free LifeSecurity Theater Adds a New ActComing soon: The Interview.Wendy > McElroy > Posted August 02, 2011 > “Where are you going? What is the purpose of your trip? Where will you be > staying? Who will you see there? How do you know them?” Anyone familiar with > international travel will recognize such questions as a particularly > unpleasant aspect of being “processed” by U.S. Immigration and Customs > Enforcement (ICE). Soon Americans traveling within their own country may be > similarly quizzed before being allowed on an airplane. > The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is debuting a new behavior > detection technique, which may be announced as early as this month. TSA > agents plan to “chat you up” … or maybe they will interrogate you under > sweat-inducing spotlights. TSA Administrator John Pistole declined to discuss > the details but asPoliticocommentatorJosh Gerstein explained, “Pistole said > TSA is preparing to move to an approach that employs more conversation with > travelers -- a method that has been employed with great success in Israel.” > The information comes from a recent Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, where > Pistole conducted an onstage interview with CNN’s Jeanne Meserve. Pistole > stated, “I’m very much interested in expanding the behavior detection program > … in a way that allows us to … have more interaction with a passenger just > from a discussion which may be able to expedite the physical screening > aspects.” When Meserve explicitly asked whether the Israeli system was “the > model,” Pistole answered, “Yes,” and later explained that Israeli security > techniques had been “carefully examined” because they have been “very > effective.” (See the videohere. It runs for 62:39 minutes; the reference > quotes begin at about 18 minutes.)Israeli SecurityExtensive questioning of > travelers is a mainstay and defining aspect of Israel’s airport security. In > aTimearticle, “The Toughest Airline Security of All,”Lisa Beyerchronicled her > own experience in Israeli airports:The point of the long question sessions is > to find inconsistencies in a terrorist’s cover story, or to agitate him into > a panic. I was typically asked questions like: who paid for your ticket, why > are you traveling, why did you buy the ticket so late (or so early), where > did you travel in Israel, whom did you meet here…. Almost always, I’d be > questioned by one agent, who would then leave to consult with a second agent, > who would appear and ask many of the same questions. Then the two would > compare notes, often with a supervisor, before the first agent would return > with more questions. Currently, about 3,000 Behavior Detection Officers > (BDOs) are stationed throughout the United States at 161 airports. They > observe travelers for involuntary reactions, such as sweating, that > supposedly identify high security risks who require more intensive > screening. It is not clear whether an expanded number of BDOs or regular TSA > agents will quiz travelers. > Three things seem clear, however. > First, if an Israeli model is adopted, more time will be needed to clear > airport security. According to Wikipedia,El Al Israel Airlinesrequires that > each individual be interviewed. Thus “passengers are asked to report three > hours before departure.” Interviewing every passenger may be a practical > impossibility at American airports, but even interviewing 10 percent would > cause substantial delay. > Second, the TSA wants to distance itself from patdowns of children, which > have been called “child molestation” and have outraged the public. “I think > under our new protocols we would see very few patdowns of children,” Pistole > said. Instead, Politico’s Gerstein reported, parents would be “more involved” > with TSA personnel in figuring out “why a child is setting off alarms.” > Third, any change in screening children will not necessarily extend to other > travelers. Pistole specifically addressed the elderly, whom the TSA is also > accused of “man-handling.” He called their screening more complicated because > so many of them are on lists that trigger enhanced screening.Orwellian > ChangesMajor changes at the TSA will affect every flyer in America. Several > test programs are being instituted or planned. Some seem innocuous, such as a > program to identify frequent flyers and expedite their screening. Others seem > Orwellian, such as“Future Attribute Screening Technology,”which scans > passengers for indications of their intent to commit future crimes. For > example, a passenger with a speeding heartbeat or the “wrong” attitude could > be considered a high risk and subjected to enhanced screening. > Putting aside issues of civil liberty and money, does the TSA’s track record > justify such expansion? The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the > Inspector Generalreport (pdf)for FY 2011 said that some 43,000 people have > been given enhanced screening since 2006. In 3,100 cases the TSA called the > police for further handling. A total of 278 people were arrested, all on > nonterrorist charges such as immigration violations. Either the TSA either > cannot detect terrorists or there are none to be found. The one task at which > the TSA excels, however, is the imposition of social control by training the > average person to obey. > How will the American people respond to being quizzed? I suspect they will > answer promptly and politely in the same way they take off shoes, present > their possessions for rifling, and submit to x-rays and patdowns. Over time > and through gradual steps the TSA has conditioned Americans to view each > other as “the enemy” from which government must provide > protection.http://www.thefreemanonline.org/headline/security-theater-adds-a-new-act/ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
