The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Friday, April 2, 2010 enhanced passenger screening for everyone traveling to the United States from abroad. The new protocols replace the emergency screening after the 2009 Christmas day failed terrorist attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 over Detroit by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
Instead of targeting travelers from 14 "countries of concern", all passengers who match specific criteria and updated intelligence characteristics, including travel patterns, will be subjected to a secondary security screening, making use of psychological questioning, physical pat-downs and body scans. Other security measures will be used, without divulging specific details.
CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Official portrait of United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (Wikipedia/Public Domain); (BELOW RIGHT) Transportation Security Administration employee John Carter demonstrates the stance in an advanced image technology unit at Boston Logan International Airport, Friday, March 5, 2010, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm); (BELOW LEFT) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama prior to their meeting in Hatoyama's official residence in Tokyo, Friday, March 12, 2010. Napolitano visited Tokyo to take part in Saturday's meeting of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference of Aviation Security. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, Pool); (BELOW RIGHT BOTTOM) U.S. Marshals Service photo of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (Wikipedia/Public Domain)
A video follows this article explaining the new TSA security protocols.
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According to Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security, “These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats.”
Ms. Napolitanto has been attending multiple top level security conferences in Mexico, Spain, and Japan to discuss with foreign intelligence officials how to protect flights from potential terrorists. The results of those meetings, along with proposals from other countries have been incorporated into the new screening techniques.
In addition, the TSA No-Fly List has been expanded, and supplemented by a larger second “selectee” list of passengers to be subjected to more thorough screening. According to security officials, these lists now contain 6,000 and 20,000 names respectively. Passengers who are not on either list may have foreign airlines alerted to their travel plans, if their fall into certain intelligence criteria. A greater number of travelers will also find themselves going through secondary screening procedures. As a result, TSA is advising travelers to be at overseas airports earlier if they are headed on flights bound for the United States.
Most civil liberties groups and others concerned with international travel have praised the new procedures, which is a broad brush multi layered approach, rather than based on ethnic profiling or country of origin.
Former assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, Stewart Baker, called the new measures "a distinct improvement" over the emergency policies imposed after the Christmas bombing.
Aid Mr. Baker, "I do think it makes sense to look at people and not nationalities." He added that the new plan appeared to do an improved job of using fresh intelligence to preflight screening.
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Comments
I am sure glad we don't hire for looks in ths country! Just kidding...great article, Joel. Very useful information.
I hope some of these measures work in this sad state of affairs! Good article Joel. Thanks.
We can hope this approach will prove effective...and efficient. Great read, Joel...
Cheers...
Thanks for keeping us informed, Joel.
Security is like any other area in life. It is about learning and gathering information and interpreting the data in order to deal with the future.
That is good to know - a very nice complete report. Thank you!
Do you think the new policy will make us more secure? Not sure if it will make any difference... It seems like the quality of the list is still the most important factor in whether this screening works or not. They neglected to put the underwear bomber on a don't fly list but have a young boy on it. Sounds very random!
Thanks for the update!
Airport security is a tough job. Sounds like they thought this out.
gerneral aviation is looking better and better everyday!
After experiencing Mexico's version of TSA a couple of weeks ago I suddenly feel safer flying at US airports. The good news is that i doubt any terrorists are targeting flights to Mexico resort destinations.
some people see it as an invasion of privacy; but let's face it - if we want to be safe, we have to keep these measures up. but we should never get too comfortable because the bad guys are continually plotting.
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