What Needs To Be Done - Now

Theft At The TSA

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Archives Thru May 2006

Archives - 9/11/01 - 03/04/02

Archives - 4/01/02 - 7/01/03

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Aviation Security Perspectives

Update:

December 10, 2007

Warning From Afar...
Cyclone Fences, Al Qaeda Airlines, & Multi-Layer Security

On first pass, it's funny.

It was reported that two newspaper investigators in Romania, dressed up in ramp uniforms emblazoned with "Al Qaeda Airways", had no problem penetrating not only the civil portions of Bucharest Airport but also the military areas as well. They planted phony bombs in various spots, and essentially had their way with the facility. The uniforms were a particularly nice touch.

But on reflection, this is another warning call for US security. Inquiring minds wanted to know if this could happen here. The answer: bank on it. Not likely at smaller airports, but at a large one, security is a sieve. Therefore, what took place in Bucharest is another wake-up call for US airport security.

• Fact: illegal aliens have been found working in secure areas at Washington/Dulles - remember, that's the airport where an airliner was hijacked on 9/11. At ORD, illegals with phony IDs were found working in secure areas, too. Think that couldn't be a conduit for a terrorist event? We have a President and Congress that're all bent out of shape over Iraq, but are at one in not wanting to close the Mexican border to prevent entry of Mex-Mafia, criminal gangs, and, yes, terrorists.

• Fact: Forget the airport perimeter, as even screening points for passengers are now hopelessly compromised. It's no secret that there are failures of screeners to find test objects - upwards of 90% in some cases - not to mention that TSA management has been caught doctoring tests by warning checkpoints in advance - just like the FAA was doing before 9/11.

• Toss in factors such as a near-total lack of security awareness training, few, if any threat identification programs, no event mitigation or contingency planning, and add it to the fact that even passenger screening is a sloppy mess, and it's difficult to claim that we're secure.

So, even though the story's about an event at a place most Americans can't find on a map, it must still give us pause to consider whether a similar media stunt could succeed at LAX or JFK or DEN. And whether that stunt could be carried out by real terrorists.

The fact is that it could. And that's another warning.

Here's a point made by Steve Elson, a former FAA Security Red Team Inspector who's been at the forefront of illuminating the lack of professional security planning at US airports:

"Remember that TSA has the “Cyclone Fence” mentality of AVSEC.  Cyclone fences as you may see around airports, military facilities, etc. are NOT security fences.  They can be penetrated (over, under, or through) literally in seconds...  They are only there as a line of demarcation to keep GOOD, HONEST, LAW ABIDING CITIZENS OUT. That’s all...

"Kids, drunks, insane, and terrorists can penetrate in seconds.  The same is true of TSA checkpoints and “security.” The checkpoints can’t stop any half-witted person who wants to take weapons or explosives through, but they do harass the hell out of honest people, many of whom make the mistake of taking through killer cuticle clippers, ninja nose hair tweezers, or pocket knives (which make no difference).

The point is that what happened in far-off Romania is more than a media curiousity. It again sends a reminder that our system isn't secure. We know that now. And it's being ignored.

We knew it before 9/11, and it was ignored, too. Another Red Team Inspector, Brian Sullivan, desperate to get some attention regarding the danger posed by inept security at Boston Logan, sent the following to Senator John Kerry:

"... Think what the result would be of a coordinated attack that took down several domestic flights on the same day. With our current screening, this is more than possible. It is almost likely..."

That was sent in May, 2001. Kerry's office ignored the warning, eventually telling Sullivan that since he was not a constituent, the Senator was not interested. Four months later two airliners were hijacked at Boston, presumably carrying some of the good Senator's constituents to their unnecessary deaths.

So we can giggle about "Al Qaeda Airways" staff and what happened last week at Bucharest Airport. But that's essentially what we did before 9/11. Make no mistake - what happened there could happen here.

Of course, the PR hacks at TSA, right up to Kip Hawley himself, will disregard this warning. See, their security system, they claim, is multi-layered.

And so's a sheet of Charmin.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved
_________

November 26, 2007

The TSA's Latest Photo-Op
More Clear Proof We've Forgotten The Causes of 9/11

Let's review where we are in regard to aviation security.

• Report after report indicates that airport security is no better than on 9/11, when four airliners were easily hijacked.

• Screener tests are routinely failed at rates as high as 90%. That means screening isn't anywhere near the level it needs to be to protect the nation.

• Illegal aliens with false identification have been found working in sterile airport areas. That means that security is breached easily through the airports' back doors.

• The management of the TSA, like at its predecessor FAA, has been caught doctoring tests of screeners by warning local TSA officials when such tests are planned. That's called corruption.

All of this is taking place six years after the nation discovered just how poor airport security really was, with nearly 3,000 people paying for it with their lives.

So, it's more than clear that TSA's version of airport security in America is a shambles. But Congress has done nothing. The Administration has continued to staff the front offices of the TSA with W's little friends, instead of security experts.

But what's really incredible is that some of the organizations that purport to "represent" families of 9/11 victims not only stand silent on this outrage, but, according to a story in USA Today, tacitly accept it.

The article, published on November 23, positively gushed about how the "Families of September 11" - an organization that was described as an "anti-terrorism advocacy group" - is participating with the TSA in photo-ops at airports around the nation, lauding the fine work of airport screening. One of the group's representatives was quoted as saying to an assembled group of screeners, "I am so happy that you're checking me that thoroughly."

Fine work? Thoroughly? Last summer, screeners at Denver had a 90% failure rate in finding test objects. Screeners missing test objects with similar poor performance across the country. TSA management doctoring data. Illegals working in sterile areas. All evidence that points to the fact that the TSA is doing anything but "fine work."

It might be laudable to try to make screeners feel good. And it's not incorrect to point out that some of the best customer service people at airports are wearing those white shirts.  But in light of the continued failures of the TSA itself, there are a lot more important issues that such a group should be concerned with first. Posturing what's going on at the nation's airports as good security, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, is nothing short of hypocrisy. Calling it "the first line of defense" and then failing to demand loudly and forcefully that the swiss-cheese holes in that line be fixed, and those responsible be held accountable, does not compute.

The average citizen reads an article like this, and sees that some organization representing families of 9/11 victims is working with the management of the TSA to make glowing presentations lauding the TSA's work. The result is that Mr. & Mrs. America are being entirely misled into thinking that all is well in airport securityland, when the reality is quite the opposite.

This group was described as being instrumental in getting the 9/11 Commission appointed. It's curious, then, that there seems to be no evidence of the group's outrage over the fact that testimony of Red Team investigators describing the FAA's tampering with airport security screening tests was completely cut out of the final report. The same kind of tampering that's been discovered being done by current TSA management.

It's difficult to accept the description of being an "anti-terror" organization when the group isn't completely outraged that the poor management and direction of airport security that existed on 9/11 still continues. The TSA has been shown time and again to be a failure, yet this "anti-terror" organization isn't calling for heads to roll in the incompetent front offices of the TSA. Instead they're doing what amounts to PR work for them.

There was an interesting quote in the article from one of the organization's members. "All the times I went through checkpoints, I wanted to look them in the eye and say, 'Thank you, what you're doing matters.'"

That's a fact. It does matter. And it's also a fact that it's being done ineptly across the nation. Joining with the TSA, instead of using their bully pulpit to put pressure to change what is nothing short of corruption and bad security, again calls into question any "anti-terror" credibility of groups like this.

As Steve Elson, a former FAA Red Team security inspector has said time and again, "No accountability, no security." Events such as this one clearly show that we have no accountability. And, therefore, no security. But it seems the nation is quite content with a status-quo that includes sloppy airport security.

Just like before 9/11.

______

October 8, 2007

The Good Ole Days Are Back
Pencil-Whipping Aviation Security

Before 9/11, it was a proven fact that the FAA under Jane Garvey routinely doctored Red Team tests of airport security effectiveness. The levels of accuracy were so bad that instead of fixing the problem, Red Team reports were simply changed to reflect a passing performance, and in some cases the teams were ordered to announce their tests in advance.

That's called corruption. That's called putting the public at risk. One might think it would be considered an outrage. But the 9/11 Commission didn't think so. Matter of fact, they left it entirely out of their report. Not enough political traction, and besides, it might embarrass Garvey, a Democrat appointee, or the Bush Administration, which was in charge on 9/11. The fact that the entire flying public was at risk to poor airport security was not a consideration.

And, we find, that comfy situation is still in place today. The crack team of professional political appointees running the TSA today have decided to continue this grand tradition of "fixing" security problems by simply dummying the numbers. It's a whole lot cheaper for the US taxpayer to just alter reports, instead of the time-consuming and expensive process of re-training screeners, and maybe, heaven forbid, having to can a bunch of corrupt TSA officials who are doing a lousy job. And lying, too.

It's no secret that the TSA is a wallowing failure. Earlier this year, screeners failed Red Tem tests 9 out of ten times at Denver International. That means an amateur terrorist (the type that wouldn't have the brains to know that there's easier access to secure areas than through a security check point) would have a 90% chance of getting stuff through. This has been the embarrassing situation across the TSA for years. So they're taking action.

They're again cheating on tests.

Already TSA at one airport in the south was found to have pre-warned screeners when tests were due. (Note to Kip Hawley: terrorists don't do this.) Needless to say, the local TSA official guilty of this act has been moved, but exonerated of any wrongdoing.

Now, it's been learned that similar shenanigans have taken place at SFO and as many as five other airports. And just like before 9/11, and just like at the 9/11 Commission hearings, nobody's outraged. The congressman in charge of TSA oversight has boldly observed that cheating "weakens our security systems at airports..."

No kidding? Welcome, congressman, to the George W. Bush School of Stating The Obvious and Doing Nothing. Note that there is no concern that somebody's doing the cheating. Somebody's making the decision to lie to the American public. Watch for this whole matter to slowly fade away, with nobody held responsible.

Question to ponder. If this relatively simple part of Homeland Security - screening for objects at airports - is so wildly corrupt, ever wonder what the rest of the program, the tough stuff, such as infrastructure protection, threat mitigation, and border security, might be like? The TSA is run by proven incompetents, so it's not a stretch to assume the rest of the DHS is a patronage playground, too.

Billions spent to assure that we maintain the systems that made 9/11 possible. We're back to the good old days.

____________

July 23, 2007

TSA: Still Flicking Its Incompetent Bic
Wait 2 Weeks. Then Cigarette Lighters Will Be Safe

It's a stunning breakthrough in the War on Terror.

As of 12:01AM August 4, 2007, cigarette lighters will suddenly be transformed from terrorist weapons into benign items passengers can now carry through TSA security check points. Every Zippo and Bic in America will be safe. But not until then, mind you.

Yet another chapter in the saga of the Gang That Can't Think Straight, a.k.a. the Transportation Security Administration. But this silly bit of Political Theatre is valuable in that it illuminates all of the core incompetentcies of the TSA. Let's count them:

A Total Vacuum of Security Planning. The ciggie-lighters ban was not the idea of the TSA. It was a mandate that some bozo play-security-at-home congressman slipped into some legislation. So, for the past year, the TSA has been snarfing thousands of lighters from passengers, and not really having any idea why, or what good it would do, especially in light (no pun intended) of the fact that passengers and wannabe terrorists could obtain matches in stores inside the secure area. Despite no hard evidence that lighters were viable as terror weapons, beyond being able to get stuff lit up - which matches can do, too, the TSA went along with Congressman Dingdong's legislation. So, who's really doing the long term strategic thinking at the TSA?

Zero Professional Security Leadership. Just because some congressional inhabitant thought lighters were bad, the TSA went though the efforts to stop them from getting into secure areas.

No rhyme, reason, or analysis. No response regarding how the TSA, in its comprehensive security planning, had already analyzed such threats (which, of course, they had not). Instead of professional, anticipative security direction, we have a TSA that's so weak Congress has to make up the rules for them.

It's a wonderful thought to consider that our aviation security is so poorly managed and poorly thought-out that any itinerant member of congress can make up screening rules and the TSA will apply them blindly, without a whimper in protest. This is particularly telling in that now, the TSA is saying the lifting of the lighter ban will allow screeners to better focus on other things. (What, we don't know.) So, that means that this item-prohibition has been a distraction to better security, and since the TSA is lifting it, it never was a security enhancement.

Nevertheless, Kip Hawley and his team put up with it. He didn't stand up and let congress know, that, a) the ban was stupid, in that people could obtain matches throughout the terminal, b) there was no evidence that such items were viable as weapons, and c) it was supposedly distracting his screeners from properly doing their jobs. The message is clear: The TSA has no anticipative plan, and no professional leadership. Senator Snort says ban lighters, and they jump, not knowing why.

The System Is Woefully Cumbersome. Okay, if the lighter prohibition is now determined to not be necessary, how come the TSA has to give a two-week warning of the end of the ban? The message is that it takes this ponderous bureaucratic mass weeks to implement a simple change. Weeks to communicate it to their thousands of screeners.

The mess last August with Hawley's sudden liquid ban - not having any real idea what to do, except ban liquids and gels - didn't do squat to make us any safer. But it was a giant circus at airports. Formulating workable plans quickly and within the context of the TSA's real mission - to protect the viability of air transportation (which includes security) - is beyond the TSA's vision.

Fighting Terror With PR, Not Professionalism. Reports over the past few weeks indicate that there is increased terrorist chatter being picked up by intelligence agencies. Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff noted that he had an "gut feel' that an attack was possible.

The bad guys want to kill us. Meanwhile, our TSA is banning and un-banning lighters. Screeners are failing screening tests. TSA cannot account for thousands of missing ID cards and uniforms. They've even lost the personnel records for 100,000 current and past employees. It has been discovered that the TSA did not even take basic security measures such as encryption, to protect those now-lost employee records.

Yessir, this really is what we need to protect America.

Before 9/11 we were warned of bad airport security, but the FAA ignored it. Today, it is obvious to the world that the TSA's security is about as effective as trying to take down a grizzly bear with a squirt gun.

Excuse time is over. This bunch has got to go.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

______

May 14, 2007

TSA Amazes Once Again
Security Never Means Having To Say You're Sorry.
Or, Competent

One might think that the agency responsible for securing our airports might be able to protect their own premises. But it's clear now that if you really want to lose something, give it to the TSA.

• First, it was revealed that thousands of TSA ID cards are missing across the nation. TSA has no idea where they are, but assure us that it's nothing to be concerned about. Nah, ID cards are no big deal... who'd ever use 'em?

• Then, there's the revelation that TSA uniforms are also missing. TSA again assures us that it's no big deal. Heck, it's not as if they're designer duds. And certainly, the sometimes semi-literate private-firm ID-checkers posted at airport security checkpoints are ready to vigilantly catch any wrong doers with a false TSA ID and a stolen TSA uniform. Why, they look at those IDs for, what, three to five seconds, at least.

• Last week, it was revealed that the TSA has no idea where a hard drive is that contains personal records of 100,000 current and former TSA employees. Social security numbers, bank records - stuff like that. It's not "lost" if you listen to the TSA. They just don't know where it is. But in "an abundance of caution" the TSA Administrator is offering short-term assistance (with a financial cap) to any employees who may have their identity stolen and misused as a result of the Agency's inability to locate (not lose, ya know) their own personnel records.

Put it all together, and we have a situation where a team of nasties could infiltrate a large airport without any real trouble. (TSA spokes-fibbers will hasten to say that's not possible, but they're lying.)

Say, ten or fifteen terrorists infiltrate, at various spots around a large hub airport, where there are so many screeners and such turnover that a couple of unknown faces in white TSA shirts is routine. Because screening of perimeter and other airport access is slapdash, these TSA wannabes could probably get, say, explosives, and at an appointed time, take a whole airport, and concurrently, our air transportation system, out.

The truth - which Congress, the Administration, and, unfortunately, much of the aviation industry want to ignore - is that the TSA has become a threat to national security, and it must be dismantled and a proper, professionally-managed program put in its place. But that's not likely to happen.

Check The Air Cargo. But, Please, Not The "Immigrants"  Example of how Congressional hypocrisy is running amok: People like Senator Schumer, Rep. Markey, and a host of other oh-so-concerned bi-partisan players will stand up and grandly demand that every piece of air cargo - every container, every box, every package - be screened for explosives.

But then it's perfectly okay with them - encouraged, actually - that illegal aliens be allowed to come into the country without any scrutiny whatsoever. The difference is that the illegals one day might vote. Not including, presumably, the terrorists that come in with them.

It's okay to have open, un-monitored borders where terrorists can easily come across unchallenged, and then maybe even be given "sanctuary" with no questions asked from weasel cities like San Francisco and Denver.

But don't let that load of bananas get into our ports until it's checked out.

With this idiot thinking going on in Washington, don't expect anything substantive to come from this Democrat congress in regard to fixing the TSA. They're perfectly happy with the status quo. Like they were before 9/11.

The truth is that this nation is highly vulnerable to another 9/11-scale attack, and given the fragile state of much of our infrastructure, such an event could take our economy down big time.

If Homeland Security can't protect its own ID cards, uniforms and computer records, it doesn't take the mental acuity of a chimpanzee to conclude that they can't protect our country, either.

Note to Congress and the aviation industry: ignore this at the nation's peril. Chertoff, Hawley, et al need to be fired. Now. They are not competent.
___________________

April 9, 2007

The Latest Episode From The TSA Twilight Zone

You are traveling within another dimension...a dimension not only of sight and of sound, but of mind-numbing stupidity. A dimension the boundaries of which are limited only by the the gullibility of politicians... A dimension where global terror is fought by eliminating lip gloss, toothpaste, and hairspray... A dimension where right and wrong, good and bad are no considerations whatsoever...
A wonderous dimension populated by political creatures who couldn't manage themselves through a re-run of Star Trek...
Wait! There's a signpost up ahead, a screening checkpoint...
Your next stop, The TSA Zone.

And what a wonderous dimension it is, magically protected from truth, totally outside the bounds of professional standards. A dimension where failure is lauded as success, and where inept bureaucrats have superhuman powers protecting them from any accountability whatsoever.

Episodes of the TSA Zone just keep coming week after week. Great story lines. Like how screening failures are really proof of management competence. How smuggling in secure areas proves how "flexible" and "layered" the TSA really is. Baggage theft. Weapons getting easily though checkpoints in tests. Airport perimeter security programs that are roughly the equivalent of giving Willie Sutton the combination to the safe.

And who can forget the human interest episodes, like the one a couple years ago, where the IAD Federal Security Director got nailed on a DUI during a high security alert. Or the one just aired this season where the FSD in a western city decided to expose himself in a hotel elevator. Or at Newark, where the FSD was given a $20K bonus for great performance, only to find months later that the airport really didn't have a full, comprehensive security plan.

And at the end of each show, the finale is a TSA official claiming that whatever went wrong, whatever the screw-up, it was proof positive that the TSA is doing a super job deterring global terror.

The TSA Zone - a wonderous new dimension of creative entertainment. But not very good security.

Miss 90% of Test Items. A Great Success! Last week's episode of the TSA Zone did not disappoint.

It opened with a great statement from TSA Security Director Earl Morris, who apparently works at the TSA Mother Ship of Intergalactic Mumbo-Jumbo in Washington.

“We have a very robust program of which we are very proud..."

Then the episode went into flashbacks of the events that led to this grand conclusion. It seems that the media discovered that screeners at Denver International failed to find 90% of test weapons and explosives passed through the checkpoint by Red Team investigators. That's right - 90%. A giant embarrassment to the TSA, right?

Wrong. Remember, this is The TSA Zone - another dimension where giant failure is declared as incredible success, just with a condescending, unquestioned one-liner or two. And nobody in this dimension, or outside of it, apparently, gives a hoot.

In the TSA Twilight Zone, incompetent security is described as "robust." Failure is achievement. There's no question whatsoever that good sense has left the building.

But in the real world, in the Dimension of Reality, this is called putting the public at risk. It's also called lying. To the TSA, a 90% failure isn't any big deal. In the real world, a 90% failure rate would indicate, five years after 9/11, that the TSA Zone is a show that needs to be cancelled as soon as possible. It isn't working.

TSA Zone-dweller Morris' claim - that the TSA is so robust - was in response to a comment made by Bogdan Dzakovic, the former FAA Inspector - and American hero - who blew the whistle on corruption at the agency right after 9/11, and had his career totally destroyed by a vengeful bureaucracy.

When asked by the media regarding the 90% failure performance at the TSA, Mr. Dzakovic put it clearly and honestly, stating that this was only the latest example that proves airport security is non-existent.

It's a cruel and dangerous joke that the TSA is nothing more than a self-perpetuating bureaucracy which not only has no accountably, but no integrity, either. Simply put - it's another dimension of sight and sound focused mostly on covering their own tushies, not protecting the public.

Only in the safety of "another dimension" could Morris, hiding in the TSA Zone, be "proud" of a system that lets bombs and explosives through screening points. We assume that today's Rod Serling of the TSA Zone, Kip Hawley, is proud, too. These guys are openly proud of incompetence. They are proud of failure. They are proud of the garbage performance of the TSA.

Professional Terrorists v Press Releases. Here's a flash for these two deluded bureaucrats - this ain't no fantasy show where simply re-writing the script when something screws up will magically make the the problem go away. This is the real world, and it's proven that we are saddled with mis-managed aviation security that's flunking tests time and again.

Here's another outside-of-the-New-Dimension flash for Hawley: terrorists are proud, too. They're proud of what was done on 9/11. They're no doubt proud, too, when they know that the $15 billion spent by the TSA has resulted in scandalous security failures at Newark, Orlando, Denver, and who knows where else. If a Red Team can get through, a professional terrorist can, too.

But Hawley and his team know that they're completely protected inside the TSA Zone. They know their system is secure, as are their jobs, yet all the while the TSA is a national laughingstock.

Instead of being fired - as he should be - for the security scandal that's being played out at airports all over the nation, TSA Administrator Hawley is lauded on the speaker's circuit. He's always welcome and warmly received at AAAE conventions, for example. Too bad some folks inside the Beltway don't have the guts to declare that the TSA Emperor is fully clothed, but simply has failed at his job.

Guess they, too, are proud of a security system that has a 90% failure record at the nation's #5 airport. This time is was a Red Team. Next time, it could be the real thing.

Got The Guts? Look At Why The TSA Was Created. While the TSA plays out its fantasy that they're really tough on terror, reality marches on.

Suggestion: instead of accepting the dishonest drivel from the TSA every time they fail, go on-line and pull up those pictures of terrified people hanging out of flaming windows at the World Trade Center, and of people jumping to their deaths, all because of criminally negligent aviation security. Then remember that experts are finding that security today is no better than it was on that September morning.

Then ask yourself how proud you are of the TSA. Of Hawley. Of bureaucrats like Morris. Of having this failing system lauded by people like those at the top of the AAAE, who certainly know better. All of these people are spitting on the victims in those pictures.

Bottom line: the 90% failure in Denver is one more warning that it's time to fire Hawley and overhaul aviation security. Now.

Before more people are killed.

___________

March 26, 2007

TSA Introduces A New Concept -
Fighting Terror From The Comfort of Home

The only question at the moment is how long will it be before one of two things happen:

1. Terrorists again cut through our aviation security like a hot RPG through a sheet of Charmin, like they did on 9/11, or

2. When somebody in power in Washington wakes up and demands that the Transportation Security Administration be deposited in the nearest dumpster before option 1, above, comes to pass.

This week, we had two more examples of what the nation is facing...

Example One: What's Behind Door #1? At Orlando, the argument about who's responsible for certain doors to security areas has yet to be answered. The TSA, which is supposed to be directing airport security, is telling the airport that it's not the TSA's job. TSA claims that it's just so understaffed and under-funded that it can't do the job permanently. In other words, maintaining basic airport security is beyond their ability. According to them and their oh-so-concerned-about-security Congressional patrons, like Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the TSA just needs more money to do its job.

Example Two: Anti-Terror Tele-Commuting. In Washington, the alleged short-funding of the TSA was again shown to be a load of yogurt this past week when the Newark Star Ledger discovered that the agency has created a new position of "Senior Field Executive" or SFE, for short. It pays between $122,000 and $160,000, plus bennies, and includes use a government car. The job  description is vague, vacuous and reeks of a pork position. Oh, yeah, one more thing - they work from home. Not in an office with other TSA staff, but at home. Oops, yet another thing - they can double-dip, too - of the 12 people appointed (without any competitive job posting, by the way) four of them will continue to receive their federal retirement pay, too.

According to the job description, this is one really mellow gig in fighting the war on terror. Nobody reports directly to them, but they will, according to the TSA, be "advisors in matters involving multi-modal security" and "assist in coordination for functions that cross operational lines..."   Whatever that is.

And all from the comforts of their living rooms. They can keep up with the soaps and watch the latest trends on Oprah, all the while gallantly putting themselves on the line to keep our nation safe.

Pork. Not Security. The point is that these are cush jobs for political appointees who are, or who are about to, retire. Period.

It's the biggest scam since no-money-down real estate, the infomercials for which these SFEs will probably be intently watching from their Lazy-Boys. When transportation security is being directed by political-appointees-cum-couch-potatoes, we can probably conclude that al-Qaeda doesn't have a lot to worry about.

The reporter who single-handedly broke this story, Ron Marisco of the Newark Star Ledger, asked to interview one or more of these just-appointed Senior Field Executives. The TSA flatly denied the request. We mustn't distract high-level security officials from watching CNN to find the latest in the Anna Nicole Smith saga.

But all is well, according to the TSA, where a spokesperson last week declared, "TSA moves in a flexible, unpredictable fashion to address vulnerabilities with a layered security approach."

Absolutely true. Unpredictable because even a plan for monitoring airport doors is beyond them. And as shown by the SFE affair, boy, is it ever layered  - with pork. And all the while, Bin Laden still wants to kill us.

Hello, George Bush. Hello, Congress. Hello, Nancy Pelosi. Is anybody home?

Unfortunately, the TSA's Senior Field Executives are.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

__________

March 12, 2007

Airport Security: The Burlesque Continues

In January, we made the following observation regarding the negligent - but industry-accepted - scam that the TSA passes off as airport security:

Yup. Three ounces of Grecian Formula is okay. Four is dangerous. But there's no cohesive TSA airport perimeter security program. No telling how much explosive goo can be brought through the airport's back door. (Scroll down to January 23 to find the entire article.)

Last week,that question was clearly answered: lots and lots of stuff can be brought in through that back door, and it's probably being done at airports across the nation right now. A criminal ring was uncovered at Orlando, when an apparently-bribed airline employee was caught slipping enough weaponry past security to arm a small town police force.

Of course, to the TSA, security was not compromised.

In this case, the TSA is entirely correct. You cannot compromise something that doesn't exist in the first place.

Folks Who Know Better: Heads In The Sand. Not that the folks in Congress, in the Administration, and certainly in the airport and airline industries, should be surprised.

Bad security at our nation's airports is more obvious than a zit on an American Idol contestant. But, according to accepted non-wisdom, "we" must work with the TSA. "We" must accept our position as surfs to the bureaucracy. For some of the entities that could and should be outraged at what we've seen in the past five years, the power of political connections is more important than the fact that tacitly accepting this inept slop - or, worse, praising it - puts the nation unnecessarily at risk every day to another terrorist attack.

Nature - And Congress - Abhor A Vacuum of Leadership. These well-publicized incidents have naturally resulted in calls for legislation to close "loopholes" in airport security. Loopholes that any basic security program would never allow.

And that, friends and neighbors, once again sums up the total and fundamental failure that the Transportation Security Administration represents. They have no anticipative program whatsoever. Furthermore, it once again illuminates that the TSA is a threat to aviation security. That's because it now has opened security to political - as opposed to professional - intervention.

Remember this: as with any war, dealing with terrorism cannot be legislated. Security is by definition a subjective decision regarding acceptable risk, and from that determination, flexible, changeable, immediately-modifiable approaches are necessary. To assure that airport sterile areas and perimeters are secure is something intrinsic and basic to the TSA's mandate. Yet, as seen around the nation, they have, in their ossified bureaucratic incompetence, ignored this responsibility. Unfortunately, because of the total negligence and total lack of vision of Kip Hawley and his politically-appointed predecessors, a leadership vacuum has been created that the political soap-boxers in Congress will rush to fill. Not good news.

This is a war. Terrorists want to kill us. We need to counter them. To win a war, we need qualified field generals, a clear vision of the battlefield, and clear tactical ability to get the job done. Unfortunately, the TSA has none of these.

It's the TSA that should be driving aviation security initiatives, such as perimeter security, not random back-benchers in Congress. But instead, they sit on their hands and wait for orders. As a result, Congress will step in and tell TSA what to do. Not fix the fundamental problem, which is sheer incompetence, but just tell the current incompetent leadership what to do. And that is a recipe for disaster.

TSA Has No Plan. So, Congress'll Screw It Up For Them. The observation was made by Sun Tze in The Art of War over a thousand years ago, that an effective field general must be free to direct the battle as he sees fit, without interference in regard to tactics from the Emperor, who may be sitting comfortably on his throne hundreds of miles away.

In Afghanistan, one of the reasons that the Soviets got their heads handed to them (in some cases, literally) was reportedly because the field generals were severely limited in their ability to make decisions without approval or direction from the Kremlin. That's the danger we now face in light of this "sudden" discovery of sloppy airport security: the Beltway Kremlin is looking to fill in the voids in leadership and strategic vision that typifies the TSA.

Because Hawley and his TSA ilk have no plan, not to mention a dearth of front-line generals who have a clue, Congress will now increasingly direct security, from many miles away from the battle. Implementing things mandated by posturing politicians should really produce effective results.

For terrorists, that is.

___________

And, For TSA Apologists Who Still Don't Get The Picture...

Like before 9/11, we are getting warning after warning that our security systems are inept and ineffective. And. like before 9/11, those warnings are being ignored.

For all the TSA-istas out there who still believe that ferreting out hairspray from carry-ons, and selling $100 "security background checks" that most 9/11 hijackers could have passed, are making us safer, history just repeated itself. 

At LAX last week the TSA had a total failure to respond, let alone recognize what happened...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Iraqi national wearing wires and concealing a magnet inside his rectum triggered a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday but officials said he posed no apparent threat.

The man, identified by law enforcement officials as Fadhel al-Maliki, 35, set off an alarm during passenger screening at the airport early on Tuesday morning...

The flight left without Maliki but with his luggage aboard. It made an unscheduled landing in Las Vegas, where the plane was thoroughly searched but nothing was found, officials said....

"There never was a threat," (a spokesperson) said.

Never was a threat? No, of course not. Guys with wires and magnets up their whazoo come and go every day. But since nothing got blown up, it wasn't a threat in the TSA's mind.

All of which once again underscores the TSA's amateur, veneer and dangerously incompetent understanding of the basic definition of the word. A threat is not just when somebody tries to destroy an airplane. A threat is also when somebody is engaged in the pre-planning to do so. Like, probably in this case.

Here's a flash for the TSA: Mr. Iron-Ass Iraqi wasn't wired up like that in hopes of it being an antenna to tune in the latest March Madness scores. Ya think he may have been, say, probing more than just his own posterior cavities with all those wires? Like, probing the depth of our screening? The TSA probably just thought the guy must have run out of Preparation H. (Yeah, it could have been alternative treatment. Right.)

The worst part is that, after finding the guy, they didn't have the brains to immediately track down his checked luggage, and search it. Instead they let a planeload of passengers get exposed to a potential risk.

Probing Target Defenses Is Basic To Professional Terrorism. Put this incident in the proper context, and it makes the TSA look like the fools they are in claiming that there "never was a threat."

How soon they forget - that the 9/11 hijackers planned and probed our security for months before the actual attack. Taking flights, sitting in airplane cabins watching what goes on. Walking into galleys during flight behind flight attendants, and surprising them by suddenly appearing, asking for water, only to take a quick sip and set it down, obviously practicing for the real thing. Mohammed Atta took a number of pre-flights on United, for example. A Delta captain has reported that Atta actually showed up in his cockpit, resplendent in another airline's pilot uniform, and carrying all the necessary paperwork to be a jumpseat rider. The hijackers checked out airports for months before 9/11, too.

So when a clown shows up at security with his tushy hard-wired to just a magnet, instead of a stick of dynamite, the TSA immediately concludes that there was no threat.

And that's A-ok with the powers that be in the aviation industry, apparently. It's one more example of how we're willingly accepting badly managed and short-sighted airport security.

It's likely that now the bad guys have only ruled out one path of getting stuff across the TSA finish line - no doubt much to the relief of terrorists whose health plan doesn't include proctology visits.

At least the Iraqi only had a magnet where the sun don't shine.

Make your own conclusions regarding what the glorious leaders at the TSA apparently have there.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

________________

March 5, 2007

The War on Terror Marches On
Okay, Here's The Latest From The Front Lines...

1. Bush is in the fetal position, hiding under his desk, apparently unwilling to defend himself, let alone the nation. Not even George Bush supports George Bush anymore...

2. He's hell bent on keeping the borders wide open and unchecked, as are the Democrats... Drug dealers coming across have more rights protection than US Border Agents...

3. TSA Chief Kip Hawley's busy worrying about the dangers of 4-ounce jars of Grecian Formula...

4. Airport workers, some of whom have been discovered to be illegal aliens, are not screened when they enter secure areas. Oh, yeah, now they may be "randomly" screened...

5. Test after test shows the quality of airport screening is no better than on 9/11...

6. The Democrats don't care if we have bad airport screening, as long as it's unionized bad screening...

7. The TSA is soooo "understaffed" that it has time to develop advertising programs for shoe bins...

8. The GAO just concluded that the TSA doesn't know how to complete a staffing chart...

9. A TSA honcho at Boise just got arrested for exposing himself in a hotel elevator...

10. And Bin Laden still wants to kill us.

Yup, The US is just kicking tail and taking names in this war on terror. Congress and a host of other Beltway-dwellers, seem by their silence to encourage this type of on-going security circus as being just the ticket to deterring another 9/11.

On the other side of the issue are experts like former FAA Security Inspector Steve Elson, who seem to think we're doomed with having such nonsense being accepted as professional, aggressive national security.

Some people have no sense of humor, apparently. Gallows humor, that is.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

_______

January 23, 2007
Looking Forward:
We Have No Security Future

Let's review the stellar year of 2006 in regard to Homeland Security. We can sum it up very simply:

It's now beyond question - as it stands today, we've lost the war on terror.

Let's frame it first...

Deal with it. As a nation we are dead in the water, drifting aimlessly. No plan. No direction. No national philosophy. And no leadership whatsoever. True, there have been no major terrorist incidents since 9/11. But that's for the same reason there were none before 9/11 - nobody's wanted to stage an attack. There's nothing stopping them. Nothing.

Tap Peoples' Phones. But Don't Check The Borders. Our borders are not only wide open to the entry of any terrorist, but incredibly, that's the way our politicians actually want it. The pathetic remnant of the man who was elected to the White House in 2004 has no intention of sealing the borders. Maybe it really is his buddies in some industries that want a continued flow of cheap, under-minimum wage labor. The other side is even worse. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, a.k.a. the Burns and Allen of politics, never saw an illegal they didn't want to register Democrat.

Somehow, a key point has been forgotten: we're at war with terrorists who simply want to kill us. Like, splatter us. Sort of like the Japanese and Germans wanted to do in the 1940s, except these new guys don't want to conquer territory. We can keep Cleveland, as long as we agree to be dead.

But instead of rallying around the cause, the United States has become a shameful accumulation of feel-good, don't-be-mean weasels. Drug dealers can come across and get immunity, while Border Patrol agents go to jail for violating their "civil rights." A pandering Democrat hack in Arizona has proposed a law declaring any private US citizen who would dare monitor our borders as a "domestic terrorist." It's okay for any terrorist to come across, but it's going to be crime to try to stop them.

But don't say anything - you'll look mean and uncaring.

Inept Security: Wonderfully Bi-Partisan. Without question, the Bush Administration is now totally lost in space. Whoever that person was that appeared with the bull horn at Ground Zero with NYFD firefighters right after 9/11, he's nowhere to be found now. If the person W is today had been in office in 1941, we'd all be eating sushi and watching the Magnificent Seven in the original Samurai version.

But across the aisle, there's not much from which to draw comfort.

According to the Democrats (who suffer from acute political amnesia in that before 2000, they almost universally demanded the need to take out Saddam and his WMDs) all we need to do now is to engage in "dialog" with those who want to take us out.

They mean dialogue with that Baby Huey look-alike in North Korea, who lets his people literally starve while he builds nuclear weapons. Hey, he looks cuddly, sort of like a diminutive Oriental Don King, only he wants to arrange bigger fights.

They also mean dialogue with the guy in Iran who says there was no Holocaust, but still wants to wipe every Jew off the face of the earth.

After all, dialog worked so well for Neville Chamberlain. And for the six million people who subsequently got wiped out in Europe simply because their religion, plus the 25 million or so war dead that never got to see the end of 1945.

Don't be concerned over President Ahmadinijad of Iran, y'all. He really doesn't mean it. He's, well, an honorable man. Just like ole Neville claimed about the guy with the funny moustache he'd just met in Munich.

Every Democrat of any stature during the Clinton years was chomping at the bit to take out Saddam Hussein. Today, they don't seem to remember any of it. We just need to talk to these clowns, they say. The fact the clowns want to kill us and we want to stay alive is just a difference of opinion.

The point is, simply, that the United States has not rallied to the challenge of terrorism, but has degenerated into squabbling political factions trying to use "security" as a political football.

Meanwhile, Back At The Aerodrome... Nowhere is the lack of security leadership and   competence becoming more obvious than at the Transportation Security Administration. And it's getting worse.

Airport security is a national disgrace. Worse, it's become a wonderful place for patronage jobs, and it's now a cushy bureaucracy with no performance accountability. Just like Jane Garvey's FAA security before 9/11, only a lot bigger.

In the Transportation Security Administration, we've built a system breathtaking in its complexity, mind-boggling in its sheer size, and one that sets whole new standards for incompetence not seen perhaps since Nero's Rome, which, by the way, got burned down.

In 2006, it was revealed that a majority of screeners at Orlando and Newark failed simple screening tests. In response, the political TSA appointees at Newark leapt into action. They initiated an investigation, not into the cause of the failures, but into who revealed it to the press, including lie-detector tests on screeners. The response from the Bush Administration, which is just sooooo concerned about Iraq's borders? Nothing. The response from the Democratic side? Nothing, other than a "my, I'm shocked" comment from NJ Senator Corzine.

Bi-partisanship: neither Democrats nor Republicans give a hoot.

Forget The Basics. Despite clear, on-going proof that the TSA is a raging failure, it's simply become a vehicle for politicians to play with. Example: Senator Schumer of New York never passes up a microphone without calling for more screeners at airports in his state, but couldn't give a damn about the fact that the quality of screening is sloppy and inadequate.

The TSA is so bungling and its planning is so shoddy and incomplete that now congress is trying to legislate security. In a particularly stunning bit of soap-boxing, Rep. Nina Lowey (D-NY) has introduced legislation requiring the TSA to ensure perimeter security at airports.

That's like passing a law requiring that police stop liquor store robberies. The TSA is such a vacuum of leadership that it doesn't have such a plan - which is basic to aviation security. That's because the position of top TSA honcho has apparently been reserved for W's friends and supporters, not security professionals. And Congress could care less.

If This Were Private Industry, They'd Be Charged With Fraud. The amateur nature of our aviation security spits on the people who died on 9/11. They died as a result of the FAA's security negligence. Going forward, it's the TSA's incompetence and the tacit support of Congress that is putting the nation at risk...

• Yup. Three ounces of Grecian Formula is okay. Four is dangerous. But there's no cohesive TSA airport perimeter security program. No telling how much explosive goo can be brought through the airport's back door.
  

• Yup. Congress wants to toss more money to hire more screeners who'll work for a totally incompetent senior TSA management. Meanwhile the air traffic control system has a shortage of qualified controllers.
  

• Yup. Pay $100 bucks to a government-selected vendor for a "background check" that most of Mohammed Atta's buddies could have passed, and you get a special lane that speeds you to the same incompetent security going on in the other lanes, give or take a $200,000 machine that's supposed to sniff shoes, but doesn't work.
  

• Yup. Even in the rare instances where the TSA finally removes an incompetent manager, the guy needn't worry - the money is great. The last inept TSA manager at Newark, for example, was still paid his $156,000 annual salary for almost a year after his removal from the job, yet, apparently did no work whatsoever. The TSA refuses to explain why. And the Administration and Congress don't particularly care, either.
  

• Yup. At at least two airports, it was revealed that screeners were warned before inspectors would arrive to test the system. Just like what was done back when Jane Garvey and her FAA had responsibility for airport security, before 3,000 people were murdered due to sloppy airport security. Action taken by the TSA: The Federal Security Director at one airport was shifted and "exonerated" of all guilt.

We are supposed to take this seriously. Like good little sheep, just trust.

What's Next? Selling TSA Lottery Tickets? And the latest in this black comedy is that the TSA wants to sell advertising on its shoe bins. Not fix sloppy screening. Not formulate comprehensive anticipative security and contingency plans for every major airport. No, certainly not.

Madison Avenue, here comes the TSA.

Think about it. The TSA has actually spent time, money, and manpower by assigning bozos in the back room to develop procedures to make check points places where Proctor & Gamble can hawk shampoo, hair spray, and washday products. None of which, by the way, is allowed on airplanes, unless it's three ounces or less

But what the heck, maybe they're on to something. Why not have the TSA sell daily sponsorships in exchange for complete advertising freedom at the security check points? Have repeated announcements identifying the sponsor...

"...Your attention please. Today's incompetent screening here at East Upchuck International is brought to you by Alpo Dog Food. Remember, friends, It's 100% meat - you won't find a speck of cereal in a can of Alpo, just as you won't find a speck of intelligence in the folks who dreamed up these ridiculous security rules..."

"... Embarrassed over those ugly wet stains when you spread your arms for that secondary TSA pat-down? Everybody in the terminal's gonna see it. Yessir, waiting in long TSA lines can cause a lot of nervous perspiration. So next time, don't forget to use Arid Extra Dry before you leave for the airport..."

"... Honda is pleased to present today's excuse for airport security. Remember, folks, the new Civic gets 44 miles per gallon. And nobody goes through your luggage when you get into it, either.  Honda - the alternative to traveling without toothpaste..."

"...Attention, passengers! K-Mart is offering a Blue Light Special in security aisle six! For the next ten minutes every lucky person will get a coupon for 10% off a six-pack of Bud Light . After going though this nonsense, you'll need it..."

"... While you're slipping and sliding in your stockings, remember that the floors here at East Upchuck Regional Airport have been waxed with Johnson's Glo-Coat, the official floor care product of the TSA! So if you want your home to have the style and dash of a TSA check point, remember Glo-Coat the next time you're at the grocery store..."

Point: While US military men and women are losing their lives in a conflict in Iraq, one for which any plan or any goal the President is at a loss to clearly explain, our own borders are wide open to any terrorist that wants to come into the US.

And our first line of defense at the nation's airports is busy selling advertising.

No telling what the TSA will come up with in the coming year. Bet on it: if Congress and the Administration get their way, it'll just be more laughs.

For the bad guys.

(c) 2007, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

_______________________

 

September 5, 2006

The 9/11 Attacks:
A Comprehensive Five-Year Retrospective

Let's pretend that on 9/11/2001, so depressed after watching the horrid events of that morning, you went into a deep coma.

You just now woke up. Turning on the TV, with all the 9/11 anniversary stories, this is what you'd expect to hear as you wiped the sleep from your eyes after five years and slowly regained consciousness. You'd expect to hear about how security had improved, and how the US had aggressively responded to 9/11. You'd expect to hear the following as you began to focus on the TV screen...

..... ..... ....As a nation, we've accomplished much in regard to aviation and airport security since 9/11. We've learned from 9/11.

Security Planning: Clear And Focused. Since 9/11, the Administration and Congress have worked cooperatively, recognizing that the last attack was not necessarily a blueprint for the next one. As a result, a comprehensive, proactive and anticipative aviation security program has been implemented. The goal is to be constantly thinking like a terrorist, trying to determine how people with an intimate knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses would try to hit us again. This, combined with a tight communication system between TSA and intelligence agencies, has established a formidable line of defense - and deterrence - against another devastating attack.

The overarching focus is to implement continual programs that are aimed at keeping one, or possibly two, steps ahead of terrorists. That means Homeland Security and the TSA are actively working to anticipate where and how terrorists may try to take advantage of our free society. Furthermore, they are instituting systems that deter such actions right out of the box. Today five years after we were caught with our pants down, we now have the systems in place to identify and quickly stop threats, based on high-quality domestic intelligence which is coordinated directly with the agencies responsible for protecting our airports and other vital infrastructure.

The US Security Focus - Not Giving Up Our Freedoms To Terrorism: Congress and the Administration understand that the ultimate objective of terrorists is not just to kill us, but to destroy our way of life by instilling fear and keeping us guessing. They also agree that if we are to be completely "safe" from terrorist attacks, we would need to give up our freedoms, curtail our way of life, and essentially cower inside caves. That, the Administration and Congress have correctly concluded, is not acceptable.

Today, our security programs are predicated on not letting terrorists dictate the agenda. The Administration understands that we must maintain the initiative in implementing a range of flexible and effective security counter-measures. Hard, inflexible rules are out. This is a war, and the battleplan must be quickly adaptable. That means we are not on the run from terrorists. We're not reacting in blind willy-nilly fear.

Today, the focus is to take the offensive against potential terror acts that may threaten our airports and our key infrastructure. Since 9/11, security planning has been deployed to anticipate, discourage and deter terrorism, as opposed to the failed pre-9/11 philosophy, which was simply to reactively identify things coming through an airport screening point.

At major airports, the security programs are comprehensive, efficient and transparent. All potential access points and all potential vulnerabilities are monitored. Perimeters are remotely and actively patrolled, and all access to secure areas is carefully controlled. It's not a huge undertaking, just one that takes professional planning and review. Regardless of background checks (which are of limited value), security staff routinely monitor all AOA activities, and are trained to spot anomalies.

Screening of passengers is quick, efficient, and thorough. The range of threats - be they plastic explosives, dangerous or potentially dangerous liquids, radiation, or just weapons - is constantly updated. Technologies - all of which existed before 9/11 - are now deployed to not just detect such threats, but more importantly deter them. Terrorists know that the chances of getting something through are slim. Therefore, they're not likely to attempt to use carry-on as a vehicle to introduce dangerous items into secure areas or onto aircraft. Terrorists are cowards and sneaks. If they think they'll get caught, they'll take another path. Therefore, the goal is to keep them looking for holes in the system, but always being a step ahead of them. Terrorists that are kept off balance by aggressive security are terrorists that are not in control.

Contingency and Mitigation Plans. Congress and the Administration now understand that inept and uncoordinated reaction to an attack merely creates additional collateral damage. This, unfortunately, was the case right after 9/11. Norman Mineta couldn't decide what to do - airlines actually began taking their flights out of the skies before he issued his much-touted order to do so. Then for weeks, Mineta sat on his hands, demanding Congress pass legislation. In the hours after 9/11, airport management around the nation found that the FAA had no leadership, no direction, and no plan whatsoever.

The Administration is not going to let that happen again. Therefore, the Administration has spent enormous amounts of money and resources in developing comprehensive contingency plans for major airports and major infrastructure (such as power grids, pipelines, and metropolitan water systems) that are intended to immediately mitigate and isolate the effects of a terrorist attack. Plans are on the shelf, and are routinely reviewed and updated, to coordinate local and national agencies in the aftermath of an attack. Certainly not all of the thousands of potential types of attacks can be completely anticipated, but the security professionals in the federal government, in concert with national and international intelligence agencies, can indeed "put themselves in the head" of a terrorist, and anticipate various scenarios.

To this end, the Bush Administration is determined that we will not again be caught bumbling and clueless for days after an attack.

Professionalism and Accountability At All Levels. The era is over when political appointees directed aviation security with no fear of accountability. Today, the Administration has installed qualified professionals at the top of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. Congress and the Administration are joined in the effort to assure that the staff in charge of Homeland Security are the best that can be found. At all levels, they are highly trained, professional, and have strong experience and impeccable credentials. Even airport screeners are highly trained in security identification, and are ready to respond to deter and mitigate the effects of any terrorist at at the airport to which they are assigned. Training is rigorous. Because lives are at stake, failure is not tolerated, and the public has open access to training records.

Not only that, but the quality of training is world class, matching that of Israel or

Okay, Fade To Black. Stop Reading ...
Now Let's Cover Where We Really Are, Five Years After 9/11...

All that stuff in the above paragraphs is just a dream. None of it is true. Not a shred of it.

Yes, it's what should be in place, but the fact remains that as a nation, five years after 9/11, we're the equivalent of stupid flower children trying to stop Attila the Hun with a bouquet of pansies.

The Solutions Aren't Rocket Science. They Just Require Leadership. In the "dream" we outlined above, you just read a description of where we should be today, but we're eons from such levels of security, because the Administration and congress have squandered the opportunity. Again, none of the above - which describes how an intelligent country would respond to 9/11 - is in place. None of it.

As Americans we should be ashamed of our nation's Homeland Security. It's nothing more than a prototypical Third World bureaucracy. And it's left us wide open to terrorism.

Not A Pretty Picture. Over the next couple of minutes, we're going to state several truths that will make some people uncomfortable. We are going to state things as they are, regardless of political correctness. There are those who will find refuge in trying to weasel away from hard, obvious facts, making idiotic statements such as, "...we must be moderate in our criticism. We've come a long way, so we must give the TSA some credit for the work they've done. We need to support and work with them."

It was just that kind of weak, waffling can't-we-all-just-get-along thinking that let the events of 9/11 successfully play out. This isn't an issue of differing opinions. It is an issue of facts.

Let The Gullible Beware: Over the next two weeks, there will be dozens of retrospectives on 9/11, many or most which will paint the TSA as one of our bulwarks against terrorism. Don't believe it. The facts indisputably prove that the TSA is a politically-motivated bureaucracy, not the professional, well-directed security organization the nation needs.

• Fact: The United States is just as vulnerable as it was on 9/11. Sorry, but very little fundamental progress has been made, at least in light of five years of trying.
• Fact: The Transportation Security Administration is a raging failure, run at the top by patronage appointees who have no fear of accountability.
• Fact: The proof for these conclusions is overwhelming - GAO reports, instances of major security breaches, instances of near-zero security on major airport ramps, and what is outright confusion on the part of Homeland Security. Further, note that in nearly every case where there's been a failure, the TSA never admits mistakes or faults. An agency that thinks it's perfect is far from it.

Five Years And We're Still Behind Osama's Bulls-eye. It's been five years, and we're living on borrowed time in regard to another attack. But it's an oft-heard comment: "We must be doing things right, 'cause there hasn't been an attack since 9/11!"

Wake up and smell the cordite, friend. Answer: There's not been another attack for exactly the same reason there wasn't an attack before 9/11. Nobody took advantage of our lack of security before then, and thankfully, they haven't since 9/11, either. But only a fool would attribute the lack of a terrorist event in the past five years to the stuff we see today coming out of Homeland Security or its progeny, the TSA.

The only reason there's not been another attack on the scale of 9/11 is that terrorists haven't organized one, notwithstanding the London events of last month. The next one probably won't be kicking in cockpit doors and using airplanes as human missiles. Terrorists have a rich range of other options to attack us, most of which are being ignored by Homeland Security.

Now that we're awake, let's review what's really happened in the past five years.

Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Stupidity. Effectively, all we've done is squander somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 billion bucks on inept planning, klutzy leadership, and near-criminal "commissions," "hearings" and "investigations" that have done more to protect pre-9/11 weaknesses than to eliminate them.

First, We Established A Bureaucracy. Let's tell it like it is. The Transportation Security Administration is a functionally-corrupt, ill-managed mess that would have a tough time figuring out how to deter a troop of angry Cub Scouts, let alone professionally-trained terrorists. It has been shown to be so time and again.

The sad fact is that we are in full, confused retreat from terrorist threats. They make a move, and we react. Richard Reid tries to light his Florsheims, and we react by taking shoes off. Terrorists sneak explosives under their coats and blow up a Russian airliner, and the TSA has us take our coats off. They find folks messing with explosive cocktails in the UK, and the TSA bans hair gel on airplanes.

We are not anticipating. We're reacting. And, every time we do, we give up territory to terrorism, instead of standing up to it and proactively crafting alternatives.

Get the picture? Lord knows the TSA doesn't. That's simply because the TSA isn't a security agency. It's a jobs program created and protected by congress. The Transportation Security Administration is a repository for political appointees at the top, and a civil-service employment program at the bottom. In the middle, there are a lot of fine, dedicated people. But they're wasted inside this paper mache excuse for a security organization.

Pro-Active Security Planning: Non-Existent. The intent of the attacks was to disrupt and to instill fear. And the terrorists have done that superbly. When they try something anywhere in the world, we react willy-nilly. There is no comprehensive, airport-specific security plan at the TSA beyond evacuating terminals, and that's only if the screener actually identifies a threat, which is becoming problematic. 

Sure, cockpit doors have been strengthened. With all the other weak links in the security chain, hardened cockpits may represent just another piece of wreckage that will hit the ground after the bomb in the luggage, in the cargo, in the catering trolley, in the radio bay, or strapped to a terrorist's leg, goes off.

TSA: Patronage Heaven. Security, again, means crafting aggressive proactive programs that anticipate threats. That cannot be accomplished without professional, trained, and qualified leadership. What we've seen at the top of this insipid agency has been a parade of patronage aparachiks, each a case study in what not to have directing security.

The office of the TSA Administrator has been a revolving door - four Administrators in four years. Great continuity.

Setting the standard for the job was the first Administrator, John Magaw. His performance was an exercise in how to toss money in all directions and achieve as few results as possible. As just one example, the initial screener hiring process got off to its stellar start, with the project going $600 million over budget, (seven times the original estimate) with interviewers comfortably doing their work from posh hotels and golf resorts. Magaw defended this vigorously, and, in the process he set another TSA management standard - dishonestly.

For example, when it was discovered that interviewers set themselves up at an exclusive, hard-to-get-to mountain resort at Telluride, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire just 50 screeners, the TSA was adamant in its defense. They declared that the resort was the only place in the entire region that had high-speed internet, and that it was an easy, central location. Both of which, of course, were blatant lies. They also left out the fact that the private-sector agency doing the hiring sat there for seven weeks, and demanded $29,000 of extra police protection for their hard work.

From the start, the TSA has been focused on bureaucracy, not security. We had 3,000 people killed by terrorists who cut through our security like a hot bullet through butter. These innocent victims perished gruesomely, in crashed airplanes, or forced to jump from skyscrapers, or getting horribly crushed in collapsing buildings. We were attacked, brutally and forcefully.

So what was one of the very first actions of TSA Administrator John Magaw? He spent $400,000 on redecorating his office. We're at war, and this clown was intent on fighting it comfortably ensconced in stylish Herman Miller furniture. 

Next at the TSA helm came Admiral Loy, under whom airport screening was so badly managed that a 20-year old kid (Nathaniel Heatwole) demonstrated how he could easily get stuff - including, pertinent to recent events, potentially dangerous liquids - onto airplanes. The TSA did nothing. Immediately after that scandal, Bush moved Loy upstairs at Homeland Security, out of sight, and he was never heard from again. He was replaced by David Stone, who could only be described as totally clueless, despite the fact that as he left office the American Association of Airport Executives handed the guy an award for "excellence." Great standards.

Today, we have Kip Hawley in charge of the TSA. He may be a nice person, but he's an embarrassment to the nation as TSA Administrator.

When the GAO last spring again demonstrated how sloppy airport screening is, with the TSA failing 21 of 21 tests, Hawley proceeded to spit in the faces of those people who jumped to their deaths at the World Trade Center. He had the crust to put out a press release stating how proud he was of his screeners. When it was found that 60% of screeners in Orlando failed threat identification tests, he said nothing. When Homeland Security issued a report that indicated putting shoes through metal detectors wasn't effective at finding explosives, Hawley called a quick news conference to dispute it, even though he is part of Homeland Security.

Professional, Trained Security - Forget It. The TSA has degenerated into a patronage cesspool, not a security agency. To be clear, it is a fact that inside the TSA are thousands of people trying to do a good job, but it's hopeless when at the top, and peppered throughout the organization, are political appointees who have no business being anywhere near a security organization. In addition to the top job of TSA Administrator, other positions that are critical to security have too often gone to closely connected bureaucrats, who have no security credentials whatsoever.

• The Federal Security Director at Newark, as we've noted, has no security experience, and whose career high point, according to the TSA's own website, was being a front PR man for the Beach Boys. This at the airport where Flight 93 was hijacked. 

• For a period of time, one of the highest ranking officials in TSA Maritime security was Norman Mineta's former press secretary.

• At one Midwestern airport, the FSD was a former FAA personnel guy.

• During a major heightened security situation at Washington Dulles over the 2003 Christmas Holidays, there was only one arrest. It was the Federal Security Director, on a DUI after getting plotzed while on the job.

• Then there was the initial TSA FSD at Newark. He was the EWR FAA security chief at that airport on 9/11. Despite major performance problems, he was allowed to stay on within the TSA, and in 2005, he was given a $20,000 bonus. Then he was finally removed from the job.

Or, how 'bout the FAA security honcho at Boston, which was a proven security sieve long before 9/11. (FAA inspectors even tried to go over their bosses' heads by bringing the matter to Senator John Kerry, who blew them off.) Even in the weeks right after 9/11, Boston Logan under this FAA security chief still had major security breaches.

Nevertheless, the woman got promoted to head of FAA security for all New England, and eventually was in charge of training programs at the TSA.

And politicians still try to convince us that we've come a long way since 9/11.

It's of note that one of the FAA security officials to which this same inept FAA security chief reported has since been nailed in court for sexual discrimination, racial discrimination, and lying under oath. Again at last word, he's still on Marion Blakey's staff at the FAA.

It's clear. A gig at the TSA or FAA is bulletproof. Unfortunately, that's precisely the reason aviation security isn't.

Looking For Objects, Not Threats. And as for comprehensive, coordinated airport security, forget it. A couple weeks ago, some homeless people were found on the AOA at Newark, ready to set up housekeeping. At Washington Dulles, "dozens" of illegal aliens were discovered working in secure areas. These are in addition to other documented cases that prove that the TSA has no plan or expertise in dealing with the back door of the nation's airports. If an old man with dementia can drive on to active runways at JFK, as happened last year, think what terrorists can do.

These aren't isolated examples. They are clearly illustrative of a TSA that is systemically and functionally corrupt. Not only will the honchos at the top try to gloss over their failures, but they will lie about it when the situation demands.

Think of it. Five years ago, 3,000 people were murdered due to bad airport security. Today, illegal aliens can be found working in secure areas. In a First World country, that would be grounds for a complete overhaul of security, and for heads to roll. But not in this country. The Administration is content. Congress is content. And the airport industry alphabet groups are quiet and content, too. Especially when some are busy selling services to the TSA, and lauding failure with grandiose awards.

Running From Terrorists Instead of Protecting Our Way of Life. The TSA is so reactive, and so bungling that, far from protecting our way of life, it is simply giving up territory to terrorism. Laughably, we've now had to give up toothpaste, make-up, and hair gel, all because the lizard-brains at the TSA can't figure out how to get around the possibility of some nitwits concocting a chemical cocktail that could fit in such containers.

Next will come the grand revelation that cell phones and laptops can be used for bad purposes, and they might be banned. At some point, a terrorist, somewhere, will be caught with a couple of fat Mont Blanc fountain pens stuffed with explosives. The TSA will react again by banning writing instruments. And so on.

The point is that we need to have systems in place that can identify such substances, without shutting our transportation systems down. Remember, the ability to identify a threat represents the ability to deter terrorists from using it. Instead, Hawley, Chertoff et al have no plan except to deny us - not terrorists - access to any objects that've been shown to have a potentially adverse use.

Forget the sunshine stories you'll hear this week about the TSA. The fact is that when your security officials have no plan, no philosophy, and are political-appointees, you cannot win against trained, dedicated terrorists. The TSA is engaged not in crafting systems, technologies, and procedures to protect our way of life. They are engaged in reacting to the last terrorist attempt. And, regardless of the grand statements coming from TSA officials and Administration hacks, we are in full retreat from terrorism. They're pulling our strings like martinet puppets.

Politics First. Security Third or Fourth. And the worst part is that this scandal is a bi-partisan matter.

The Transportation Security Administration is the darling of congress and of the Administration, regardless of how sloppy and incompetent it has become. The House sub-committee that has oversight of the TSA is little more than a Kabuki Theater troupe that puts on a show from time to time for C-Span cameras.

The Republican chair, John Mica, says all the right things, but then does nothing to back it up. The ranking Democrat, Peter DeFazio, is out on the fringes of reality, and has no solution except to give the TSA more money to waste.

Without question, the Bush Administration has made a dog's breakfast of homeland security. But there's no hope on the Democrat side of the aisle, either. The smarmy likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are nothing more than latter-day Dr. No's - they have no suggestions, no solutions, no ideas, and no clear plan, other than spewing mindless venom toward the current Administration.

There's not much to take comfort from outside of congress, either. Take a look at the 9/11 Commission. It dripped partisan politics. The fact is that FAA airport security before 9/11 was proven to be dangerously inept, and its management outright corrupt. As a result, terrorists hijacked four airliners, killed 3,000 people, and set the country into a tailspin.

The Commission received detailed testimony on the FAA cover-ups and doctoring of Red Team investigations. The Commission not only ignored such testimony, they intentionally left it out of their report. Today, that document is used mostly by politicians to try to clobber their opponents for being "responsible" for 9/11.

Meanwhile, the people that were actually responsible for pre-9/11 second-rate aviation security, such as FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, got away scott free. Today, we can turn on the TV and enjoy watching the two co-chairmen of the Commission, Hamilton and Kean, touting their new book on various talk shows, complaining that they didn't get the right information when they were heading the Commission. It's a great idea: cover up your incompetent work by writing a book, and make a few bucks to boot.

Maybe they'll do a video. After all, Osama does it from time to time. Maybe Hamilton and Kean can get an interview on al Jezeera's version of Larry King Live.

Bottom line: We're just a target. Five years later.

Yes, We Have Outlined Solutions. Now for the Pollyannas who just emerged from 6th Grade Civics class, petulantly whining, "okay, so you gotta better plan?" - all we can say is that if the current situation doesn't raise your blood pressure, and if it's one that you don't see as being a total failure, please rejoin your colleagues at the reptile farm.

The first several paragraphs above should give a very clear idea of what needs to be done. But, in addition to that, we have outlined solutions, time and again. In fact, click below for a synopsis of clear solutions to the dangerous bureaucratic tar pit the nation has fallen into. And that's a presentation done three years ago. The comments stand today.

Final summary: we're going to see a lot of news stories on 9/11 over the next few weeks. Many will be shameless bias pieces trying to nail one political side or the other. Some will be lightweight puff pieces that will take at face value whatever drivel Homeland Security, the TSA, or some hack congressmen say. Some will have all the intellectual value of a roll of Charmin. And some will be hard-hitting and on-the money.

Just remember - 9/11 was the proximate result of criminally-negligent aviation security. That negligence continues and is still in place today.

Another attack on a 9/11 scale?

It's not "never again." It's just a matter of when.

What Needs To Be Done - Now

(c) 2006, The Boyd Group/ASRC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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