terrorism

John Pistole, administrator for the Transportation Security Administration, has admitted the TSA might not have been able to stop the most-recent underwear bomber with existing technology.

Following AQAP's failed plot to smuggle a new-and-improved underwear bomb aboard a U.S.-bound airplane, Jeffrey Goldberg, a columnist for Bloomberg and national correspondent for The Atlantic, asked Pistole whether the TSA's full-body scanners, now at 180 U.S. airports, would be able to detect such a device if terrorists were able to make one in the United States.

Pistole tactfully danced around the question. "The advanced imaging technology gives us the best chance to detect the underwear-type device," he told Goldberg, but admitted after a follow-up question that it "is not 100 percent guaranteed." Pistole continued:

“If it comes down to a terrorist who has a well-concealed device, and we have no intelligence about him, and he comes to an advanced-imaging technology machine, it is still our best technology. But it’s really an open question about whether the machine, or the AIT operator, would detect the device.”

What about a lo-tech, TSA pat-down? Also not a 100-percent guarantee, Pistole said.

Goldberg left the conversation "unconvinced that the TSA can keep up with advances in jihadist bomb-making."

In his column, Goldberg shares Bruce Schneier's sentiment that the recent foiled underwear-bomb plot (and Pistole's "calibrated answer") should, rather than be cited as a reason to increase airport security, be a strong argument against it. Instead, more focus and resources should be applied to discovering and dismantling plots before they reach the airport because, as Goldberg writes, "if the only thing standing between the bomber and his target is a TSA pat-down, bet on the bomber."

I'm getting a little burned out by all the public discussion regarding whole body imaging technology and the TSA changing its pat-down procedures. I recently wrote this story about the National Opt-Out Day protest efforts for our Newswire, and it appears that the protests didn't cause security delays (or didn't at Logan Airport anyway). Frankly, I'm really sick of reading and writing about this stuff, so I'm not going to, but I did want to mention an important aviation security milestone that was reached this week.

I received this press release from the Department of Homeland Security stating that 100 percent of airline passengers on flights within or bound for the United States are being checked against government watchlists.

“The threats we face in the aviation sector are real and evolving, and we must confront them with strong and dynamic security measures,” said TSA Administrator John Pistole, in a statement. “Secure Flight bolsters our efforts to be more intelligence-driven and risk-based in our approach to aviation security. Our industry partners’ strong commitment to security was critical to reaching the full implementation of this vital counterterrorism program ahead of schedule.”

Hopefully this effort will contribute to the TSA being more informed about what passengers need additional screening. Don't forget, airlines were previously held responsible for checking passengers against government watchlists, so hopefully putting this task under the TSA will streamline the system and help make sure passengers who pose threats are more easily identified.

Yet again the TSA is in trouble with privacy groups. I just read this article from the Boston Herald that the ACLU is upset about an "enhanced" patdown search technique being used by the Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA launched a more aggressive "palms-first, slide-down body search technique." This procedure replaces the agency's previous technique which used a back-of-the-hand patdown.

Previously, TSA screeners used patdown motions of their hands to search passengers over their clothes, switching to the backs of their hands over certain ’sensitive’ body areas, such as the torso.

But now the searches will be done using all front-of-the-hand sliding motions over greater areas of passengers’ bodies, including sensitive areas.

Boston-Logan and Las Vegas-McCarran are the two airports testing this controversial technique.

A spokesperson for the TSA said that searches are conducted by same-gender TSA officers and passengers can request private screenings at any time. And the body searches are only done if passengers opt not to pass through full-body scanners.

Personally, I think a hand, is a hand, is a hand, regardless of whether it's palm up or palm down, but I can see how others might feel differently.

In some positive, less controversial news, the TSA just announced it has reached yet another major milestone and now 100 percent of passengers flying domestically and internationally on U.S. airlines are now being checked against government watch lists through the TSA's Secure Flight program.

Under Secure Flight, TSA prescreens passenger name, date of birth and gender against government watchlists for domestic and international flights. In addition to facilitating secure travel for all passengers, the program helps prevent the misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on government watchlists.

See, it's just a matter of mixing the good with the bad.