Re: big hit on US coming?

[Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu]

On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:51:00 +0200, Imri Goldberg said:

> Well, it seems to me your (Keith Olbermann's) point was that given that all
> other defense lines failed, a "highschool dropout" (read: the TSA guy on the
> spot) can't do anything.

No, the question is whether you want to bet the whole ball of wax on them
being able to do so.

If you want to argue "The TSA is there for the 10% chance they'll manage to
foil a plot", fine by me.  But is that really the point you want to take?

The TSA didn't stop the underwear bomber - that got stopped by a smackdown
delivered by other passengers.  The TSA didn't stop the recent printer
cartridge plot - that was other agencies.  In fact, I can't recall hearing
*any* plots that have been discovered and stopped by the TSA - they seem to be
unable to do anything except find 10% of the people who have accidentally
brought a knife with them.

>                                               This is exactly the case in the night of the
> gliders - all defense lines failed - the real guard actually ran away. But a
> single soldier with the sense to do something managed to stop the enemy.
> And the TSA being incompetent/inept/etc. now doesn't mean they have to be,
> or that there's no place for an organization such as the TSA in general.

A number of security experts have pointed out that the TSA as currently
set up is not good for much of anything except security theater.  There may
indeed be a place for an organization charged with actually improving transportation
safety, but the TSA isn't it, and if there *were* an organization, it wouldn't
be "such as the TSA" - it would have to be an actual competent agency charged
with actually improving security, which is an entirely different beast.

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