Comments on: Maybe TSA’s liquid rules don’t make us safer — just angrier

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:24:48 +0000

Any terrorist who couldn’t bring explosives in a bottle would simply shove it into a body cavity. A pound of C4 carried in that way would clearly be undetectable and obviously enough to obliterate a plane. I’m amazed that no one is complaining about this obvious stupidity on mainstream news.

By: Joe Buhler

Joe Buhler — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:07:47 +0000

TSA and the other security agencies are always chasing past threats like shoes and liquids, while the bad guys are most likely working on the next way to attack us. The measures taken are more of a nuisance than an effective way to prevent a future attack. Multiple past efforts have shown that it was quite easy to penetrate supposedly secure zones within airports like maintenance, catering etc. where security seems to be lacking.

I definitely don’t think that taking off belts and all the bottle baloney makes us one iota safer.

By: Hapgood

Hapgood — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:52:20 +0000

I recommend repeating this column after next January. Nothing about the TSA is going to change until the next administration replaces its current incompetent politicized leadership and (one can only hope) re-evaluates its ineffective, unduly intrusive, and often stupid approach to “security.”

Like the rest of the Bush Administration, the TSA’s leadership is convinced of their own infallibility; they thus regard any questioning or criticism as tantamount to terrorism. Reasoned argument of the sort you present is pointless, since they’ll invariably dismiss it by insisting that rules and procedures that look arbitrary and stupid are sound and appropriate based on “robust classified intelligence.” Since disclosing the actual reason why it’s so sound and sensible would harm national security, we’re obligated to accept everything they say and do on faith. End of discussion (if you want to fly today).

As for the anger and inconvenience, I suspect that the TSA leadership merely considers it proof of their agency’s effectiveness. They seem to equate effective security with intrusiveness and inconvenience, so the angrier it makes passengers the more effective it clearly must be. I sometimes suspect that the real intent of the TSA checkpoints has more to do with acclimating Americans to accepting arbitrary intrusions from government “security” officials than with providing effective protection against terrorist threats to aviation.

We can only hope that the next administration will appoint competent Homeland Security leaders who will re-focus the TSA on effective and sensible security measures that promote cooperation rather stupid rules that promote resentment. But I wouldn’t count on it. I’m waiting for someone to ask the presidential candidates about the TSA’s very obvious problems.

By: ali

ali — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:41:28 +0000

While we’re at the large-plastic-container side of things… what about inflatable objects (like travel pillows)? Couldn’t you conceivably put a lot of liquid/gel in one of those after going through security?

There’s a reason I strongly dislike the TSA… not only does it make me grumpy, but it just doesn’t make sense or give me confidence in the safety of flying..

By: Janice Hough

Janice Hough — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:20:12 +0000

Interesting timing, I was just going to write about this from a different angle.

I used to travel with the nearly finished bottles I had of shampoo, moisturizer, etc, that way, I could finish them on the trip and toss the empty bottles. Can’t do that under the new policy. In fact, I had a client almost arrested over trying to bring 2 ounces of shampoo in a ten ounce bottle. (His desire to point out the illogical aspects of the policy got in the way of his sense.) In that vein, I am not sure about how this empty bottle thing will fly.

But, TSA’s logic is supposedly clear, they don’t want terrorists to have the bigger bottles so they can’t combine liquids as Ned wrote about above. So what happens when you go through security? All these places selling drinks in 20 ounce bottle!