Verified Document

Why Is The Main Security Program At Airports Still Ineffective  Essay

Aviation Security Since 911 How has aviation security improved since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001? What do reliable sources in the literature say with reference to safety and security in 2015? And how effective is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at keeping air travelers safe? This paper covers those issues and in particular provides a number of good sources commenting on the quality (or lack of quality) displayed by the TSA employees.

Generalizations about aviation security in the Post-911 era

For most people who travel by air, the screening at the airports in 2015 is certainly more thorough than it was prior to 911, but there are continuing problems with TSA, as will be documented in this paper. But at the beginning of this paper it is worth reviewing the "Mission" of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in terms of what the U.S. Government wants the public to know: "Safety is our passion"; "Excellence is our promise"; "Integrity is our touchstone"; "People are our strength"; and "Innovation is our signature" (www.faa.gov). Has the FAA lived up to its Mission? That seems open to question. While it is true that although there have been terrorist ("lone wolf") acts on the ground; no terrorist acts have taken place on board U.S. commercial aircraft since 911. Is this because of the competency of the TSA? Or are there other reasons to explain why flying is safer since 911?

Since 911, what is the TSA doing to protect passengers in a professional way?

"More than a decade after 911, it is a national embarrassment that our airport security system remains so hopelessly bureaucratic and disconnected from the people whom it is meant to protect & #8230; to eliminate risk from flying, we have made air travel an unending nightmare for U.S. passengers…" (Kip Hawley, former head of TSA).

Why is Kip Hawley speaking out after his three-and-a-half year term as head of TSA? He basically admitted in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article (that is well referenced in a blog in www.techdirt.com) that the screening system is broken. Hawley also is quoted in the WSJ saying that the TSA's assigned job is to "manage risk" but "not to enforce regulations"; and he made that statement apparently because...

But post-911, it is the 1990s, but it is not yet in the 21st century" (www.flightglobal.com).
Protecting passengers may have become a second priority for the TSA, based on personal testimony from former employees. Protecting its image may be out on front of passengers, one can conclude after reading the available literature. For example, P. Jeffrey Black, a former U.S. Federal Air Marshal, was a whistleblower and asserted that some TSA officials were "above the law" (Jacobsen, 2008). The Homeland Security's Special Agent in charge of investigating Black (after he became a whistleblower), Charles Maurer, reportedly attempted to force a UPS store manager to allow him to see the private files of Black. Maurer told the UPS manager, "I don't need a subpoena, I have this badge. Now, get me the files" (Jacobsen, p. 1).

Another example of the TSA's heavy-handedness can be viewed through the experience of 62-year-old Annie McKeehan, who worked at four different east coast airports and witnessed "…security lapses, abuse of power and fiscal waste" (Jacobson, p. 1). McKeehan wrote a fictionalized book (detailing abuses and incompetence by TSA) and was a month from it being published when she was called in to face a TSA supervisor. She had written an email to a friend saying, "I have a plan," meaning a plan for her personal future.

When called in, her supervisor had printed out "I have a plan" on a sheet of paper and interrogated her as to what her plan was. "They had been monitoring my personal emails, the ones I'd sent from my home computer using a personal email account" (Jacobson, p. 1).

How many TSA employees have quit the agency?

Annie Jacobson writes that several agencies (including the U.S. House Judiciary Committee) had tried and failed to find out what the turnover rate was for TSA. The Government Accounting Office (GAO), a watchdog…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Blackburn, M. (2012). The TSA Is Coming To A Highway Near You. Forbes. Retrieved August 20, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com.

Federal Aviation Administration. (2014). Mission. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov.

Jacobson, A. (2009). Why have 67,000 TSA Employees Left Their Jobs? PJ Media.

August 20, 2015, from http://pjmedia.com.
Price, J. (2011). Airport Security. Retrieved August 20, 2015, from http://www.flightglobal.com.
21, 2015, from https://www.techdirt.com.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Homeland Security & Terrorism the
Words: 1900 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

S. faced during the Cold War. And unlike in environmental and health issues, the debate on homeland security is one-sided, almost bi-partisan, both conservatives and liberals calling for gigantic security budget for homeland security and anti-terrorist activities. Friedman explains, "[b]oth parties see political reward in preaching danger. The massive U.S. national security establishment relies on a sense of threat to stay in business" ("The Terrible 'Ifs'" 38). The stakeholders financially

Foreign Aid in Haiti the
Words: 3462 Length: 10 Document Type: Capstone Project

Although the UN Mission was present in the region and tried to ensure a safe passage from a regime which lacked all regard for democracy, human rights, or economic development, the perspectives and the time frame instituted for these were not optimistic. Indeed, the UN aims to secure a strong, coherent, and secure form of government through its missions and interventions. However, the most important element for a state

Airline Terrorism
Words: 4442 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Airline Terrorism As the name implies, terrorism is an attempt to provoke fear and intimidation. Therefore, terrorist acts are intended to attract wide publicity and provoke public shock, outrage, and/or fear. The intent may be to provoke disproportionate reactions from governments, and they are intended to achieve political or religious goals, not personal gain. Many definitions of terrorism exist, produced by the politicians, media, academics, think tanks, and of course by government.

Terrorists, Politicians, Social Reformers, Paramilitary,
Words: 9563 Length: 33 Document Type: Dissertation

Hezbollah has committed itself to the betterment of societal Lebanon not just in the context of Muslim families and organizations but all those who stand for an independent Lebanon. They have also provided a great deal of assistance when conflict has rendered regions without electricity or water (International Crisis Group, 2005). It was Hezbollah who provided not only medical supplies and food to Beirut during the 2006 conflict, but

Cutting Faced With the Different
Words: 4991 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

On the other hand, it is not always about the negative effects of cost cutting that is important to focus on during the analysis of whether the strategy is beneficial or more costly. There are researches and studies that also reveal the positive sides of cost cutting. The problem being focused in this paper, however, is the study and analysis of how much benefits can cost cutting really bring to

Indian-Israeli Relations Valuable to India's
Words: 9235 Length: 26 Document Type: Thesis

' Indians across the political spectrum, especially the country's powerful nuclear weapons establishment, are critical of the NPT, arguing that it unfairly warps international hierarchies to the disadvantage of the non-nuclear-weapon states" (1998:15). In its efforts to balance the pressures from the international community with its own self-interests in formulating foreign policies, the position adopted by India has been starkly different than other countries. In this regard, Karp concludes that,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now