Posted on 06/07/2005 8:14:54 AM PDT by Killing Time
Terminal Futility Routine airport security won't thwart jihadists, but it does inconvenience and endanger the rest of us. By Christopher Hitchens Posted Monday, June 6, 2005, at 1:02 PM PT
Is there anyone reading this column who would agree with Mark O. Hatfield Jr., spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, that in the past year "the average peak wait time at [airport] checkpoints has dropped a minute ... to about 12 minutes"? This is what he was cited as having said, in a New York Times report of a confidential document from the Department of Homeland Security. The last time I was at Dulles Airport, the line for security began at the entrance to the terminal and wound itself in several rope-line convolutions, like a clogged intestine, for about 40 minutes. I had allowed the usual two hours and was checking no luggage, but this and other banana-republic conditions almost made me miss my plane. Nor was it a "peak time." In any case, a passenger cannot know what a "peak time" will be. Only the TSA knows how many people are booked on how many flights at a given hour and can make provision of enough machines and personnel. Or not, as the case may be.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.msn.com ...
Obviously the Hitch had an annoying experience arriving in the US after his - remarkably high impact - visit to the UK.
I have to say that I avoid travel to the US so far as possible because of the inconvenience and hostility of airport "security".
Eliminate TSA.
They may check the occasional middle-easterner, but they felafel about it.
Blame the communist terrorists of the IRA for any difficulties you encounter with security.
In my opinion, TSA is making a point they don't focus on swarthy Arabs. And in my opinion, this is evidence for how foolish TSA is.
Glad to hear it isn't just me. My DH tells me I'm singled out because I have a olive complexion and dark hair. Forget the fact that I'm officially now over 50 and a grandmother! I've been cleared by the Secret Service faster than the TSA.
I am a frequent domestic flyer in the US. I actually HAVE found things to be getting better. I frequently fly out of the infamous Logan and fly to Atlanta, Norfolk, Orlando, and sometimes through Philadelphia and once in a while Laguardia. One huge aspect of things getting better is that more of the TSA people speak and understand English. This is huge and for the most part these people are more polite than they used to be (except in Philadelphia but hey, isn't that to be expected?).
Yes it's a pain that the bins aren't sometimes ready and taking off one's shoes is real annoying (thanks Richard Reed). I can't attest to the 12 minute wait but I will say that I have NEVER waited 2 hours as Hitch was complaining about. In fact, I've waited much longer either at the ticket counter or at the car rental counters.
I just traveled to Rome and back and was pleasantly surprised at how easily it worked. We got through Newark, NJ easily. Something alerted the folks about our tickets in Milan, but they finally let us on. A week later, we got out of Rome very easily, although we were pulled out for questioning in Amsterdam, but it was quickly and professionally done. The only problem we had was getting our luggage at Newark. It took us over two hours between landing and driving from the airport.
In spite of the ease, I got the idea that nothing slipped past the European officials and they were the ones I worried about. They checked all tickets to see that everyone with checked luggage actually boarded the plane. They called anyone back about whom they had questions. That might be irritating to some, but I found it comforting to know that they were checking people carefully.
Travel to the US is not a problem. It is the TSA in the US that is the problem.
No it is evidence of how foolish the ACLU is.
I disagree, I'm a freqent flyer and see improvement since the days following 9/11. See my comments above.
" Sloth and pettiness abound. Arrogant illiterates tossing their authority around."
The last two times I went through Dulles I was searched by middle eastern women who could barely speak English. They were surly, rude and disdainful. It's my opinion that coming from countries where women are treated like trash they're just exacting a little revenge.
Yeah. . .and against the very people that gave them freedom.
I'll be sure to avoid Dulles. I don't contend we are any safer, I just contend that some airports have improved with respect to handling people and keeping a line moving (of course a statement like that is probably just asking for trouble then next time I'm waiting in line.) :-)
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