The American Spectator

Ret. Marine| 1.15.10 @ 7:31AM

As the old saying goes, the eyes are the soul to any individual. Come on, does anyone here think common sense questioning and a person actually asking these questions is going to get the required training needed to do such tasks from this gubmint, not while this muslim occupies our House we won't.
As a trained specialist of a certain type of inteligence agency, I can verify when a person is lieing, some of this is common sense and much more involves years of observations and understanding human nature to pick up on the suttle but obvious actions of a person who's up to no good. When it comes to the safety and security of lives in this inviroment, terror, incompetent gubmint employees of the TSA types nothing should be off the table and no one is exempt from scruitney not even the pretender-n-theif himself. At the least I can prove myself to have been born in this country, and have on many occasions, dedicated to our way of life and more importently, I have nothing to hide.

Franklin| 1.15.10 @ 6:33PM

I heard someone say that we should hire retired military, police, and CIA types to handle the questioning. I agreed with them, but wonder about the current batch being trained.

After the Ft. Hood killings, I wonder if they are being shamed into not heading their common sense intuitions. Shamed for fear of what that idiot said about being concerned for the "diversity" in the military (which was interpreted [probably rightly] as meaning diversity trumps safety).

Also, I read that police officers are now becoming less observant due to the "civil rights" of criminals (not being able to use their intuition, feelings, or common sense to do searches - they actually have to have proof of something before they can search for the proof).

Sigh. PC is a tool of the Marxist, Communist, Progressives, Socialist, etc.

Alan Brooks| 1.15.10 @ 10:29PM

If the GOP doesn't like Obama, why don't they run better candidates for POTUS?

Then a ret. Marine wont have a "muslim" to kick around anymore.

Ret. Marine| 1.17.10 @ 5:39AM

And just what side are you on anyway there Mr. Brooks. It was not a matter of running a "better" candidate, it was a matter of theft, you remember that one don't you? I seem to recal you being one of these individuals who embraced the idea that Mr. Bush and Co. stoled the election back in 2000.
"then ret. Marine won't have a "muslim" to kick around anymore, you are such a slub, you know nothing of me, my career, or what it was that I did for the remaining 26 years in service to this Country. And for your information I didn't "kick" anyone around, I simply led teams in to "kill them" idiot.

Ecco| 1.19.10 @ 2:54AM

Semper Fi! You tell 'em!!

(Proud daughter of a retired Marine.)

martin j smith| 1.18.10 @ 2:54PM

Hey brooks,grow up will yuh ? Do you want to be blown up or be protected. ? It about having a leader, ANY leader who shows common sense and real cfoncern for the American people. Obama is the President, it his responsibility and frankly Ido have have confidence in him at all. Believe me when I have a chance to vote it will be a vote AGAINST Obama and his ilk in the administration,congress etc. I have no illusions about either party

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Howard| 1.15.10 @ 9:13AM

My family visited Israel in 2006 for a vacation. We flew El Al from JFK to Tel Aviv. I would corroborate the authors points. We were interviewed by a young man while we were checking in. He did ask a number of questions regarding the purpose of the trip, which synagogue we belonged to, etc. He was even tempered and had a nice sense of humor, but, he did seem interested in getting a "handle" on us. After this inquiry, we went through the TSA typical American security procedures. Off with the shoes, empty the bags, etc. I accidentally packed a metal bicycle tool, which TSA did pick up and dispose of. Going back from Israel to JFK was not as intrusive, but still more than any US airport security. We were with a recognized travel organization, so perhaps we didn't merit as much scrutiny. I guess a good analogy is the CIA vs. KGB, Mossad, etc. We rely on high tech to mask our lack of human capabilities. Those services rely more on human intelligence.

2Anglico| 1.15.10 @ 9:35AM

Excellent article! And since our country is too sissyfied to put these simple methods into practice, I will NEVER fly again. What a collossal waste of resources forcing granny to get out of her wheelchair to take off her shoes.
The islamists are laughing themselves silly.

Zach| 1.15.10 @ 10:21AM

I blogged about this a bit myself. It's efficient AND effective; the Israelis understand that security is about more than a fat paycheck for a TSA union. It's about the survival of a way of life. We should take it seriously as well.

Stammon| 1.15.10 @ 11:35AM

It's not an either or situation. A few years ago I was stopped at Louisville's Terminal. I failed the "puffer test". They tried three times, and each time the alarm went off. I am a 50 year old white male in boots, jeans, work shirt and ballcap. A very nice mid 30's chubby uniformed black man pulled me aside and started the interview;
Do you own guns:
"yes"
Do you reload:
"no"
Have you been shooting lately:
"no, haven't handled a gun in over a year"
What do you do for a living:
"I'm a steel worker, and I farm"
A farmer!, do you work with fertilizer?
"Yes, about 4 months ago"
"In fact this is the cap I wore when I ran the fertilizer truck"

At this the man relaxed. I took off the hat, passed the test, and flew to California.

Blacque Jacques Shellacque| 1.15.10 @ 11:50AM

Only when we start talking to passengers will be able to get into their heads.

With the current crop of TSA employees, that's not likely to happen.

Chris Baker| 1.15.10 @ 12:11PM

Works in Israell with one international airport, and universal (almost) military service. With our volume of traffic and unionized, DMV-style public employees? Not a chance. It'd be worse if it were privatized though. Anyone remember the workforce fringe players manning the checkpoints BEFORE TSA?

Texas Engineer| 1.15.10 @ 12:55PM

Chris they are the same people. Now they wear a government uniform and draw a US Government pay check. Previously they were employees of a private company that answered to the local police and the FAA.

Rocco| 1.15.10 @ 2:05PM

I recall when we went through this discussion post-911. Yeah, let's do it the Israeli way.....nothing doing... We in our arrogance and stupidity thought we could do it better than the Israelis with the old unionized, DMV methods Mr. Baker alluded to. What a joke!!!!!

Ed| 1.15.10 @ 2:21PM

I just flew back from Maui and the TSA agent there did engage people in conversation, looked you in the eye, and tried to get a "read" on each passenger's affect. They also looked at you while you took off your shoes, belts, coats, etc. for the x-ray scanner and walked through the metal detector. Probably, Maui's TSA supervisor is more on the ball than the usual TSA supervisor.

Marc Jeric| 1.15.10 @ 2:41PM

After 9/11 our wimp Bush said that Islam was a religion of peace and I puked; then his Transportation secretary, another wimp, stated that there should be no racial profiling of young, well-educate Arabs carrying knoves, bombs, and other means of destruction. And now, of course, this crazy suicidal policy is being enforced by Abu Hussein from Kenya, our Community Organizer-in-Chief, who also wants to unionize the "security" personnel at airports.

led miner headlamp| 11.25.10 @ 1:42AM

In short, just as we still rely on nation-states for international security, we must still rely on national governments to protect individual rights. Your freedom still depends on where you live.

Carner York| 1.15.10 @ 3:10PM

Excellent point and sadly something that will never happen in the U.S. because our leaders are more concerned with the dictates of PC rather than safety. Perhaps one realistic solution would be to greatly increase the number of bomb sniffing dogs in airports. I would have each passenger thoroughly inspected by a trained dog. Seems to me that this would be much more effective than scanning and much less intrusive.

dum&dummer;| 1.15.10 @ 5:10PM

ret. marine, i love you man, but please learn how to spell. i totally agree with most of your posts, but the spelling drives me nuts.

Ret. Marine| 1.16.10 @ 7:22AM

I'm too lazy these days. I try to get my thoughts down fast in order to get it straight. Screw the spelling, it's more fun antagonizing individuals like yourself. Thank you very mulch.

Stephanie Gutmann| 1.15.10 @ 6:03PM

@Ed. I'm glad to hear about your experience with the TSA in Maui. Now, the acid test of this particular TSA unit's level of enlightenment would come when and if they attempted to pull someone in one of the protected categories (er...that would be a young Arab man) aside for secondary screening. Having instincts is the first step, being allowed to act on them, even if they prove to have been a false lead, is the second step.

BREDNG10| 1.15.10 @ 6:05PM

All this makes sense.Ask questions,look him in the eyes,get a handle or read on the individual.One or two or a dozen suicide bombers can do a lot of damage and bring alot of planes down.
WHY IN THE HELL didn`t we do this 18 months ago???How did we elect someone brung up by a communist father/step father in a foriegn land(indonesia),taught to hate America and probably a muslem also?He can do alot more damage than a hundred shoe or bvd bombers!!!

David H| 1.15.10 @ 9:33PM

Every time I wait at the gate before I board my flight, I do my own security check. I purposely wait to board until the end, meanwhile I inspect any and all "suspicious looking" passengers.

When I find one, I go right up to them, get their attention, and look into their eyes. I'll do this for several seconds, just so they know that I know.

Of course I've never caught a terrorist, and I've undoubtedly made many of these "profilees" uncomfortable, but it really puts me at ease.

harry marks| 2.4.10 @ 9:43AM

David...get a grip!...man!(shaking head)

Alan Brooks| 1.15.10 @ 10:30PM

If the GOP doesn't like Obama, why don't they run better candidates for POTUS?

UpChuck.Liberals| 1.15.10 @ 11:26PM

Because until the GOP gets their collective heads out of their collective asses and head for a smaller tent it ain't gonna happen. Most folks are naturally conservative but want to help others. Instead of appealing to those that want to be on the dole, appeal to those that want to kick their sorry asses to get some motivation other than milking the system that thinks it's a damn cow.

anonomous| 1.15.10 @ 11:35PM

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Jim O'Brien| 1.16.10 @ 11:44AM

The U.S. should hire El Al to run the TSA. But of course that would never happen under the ignorant Obama, Clinton, et. al. , who think Israel is the "problem" in the Middle East.

El Al profiles based on common sense. If you speak Hebrew, you are unlikely to be a terrorist. If you are an American citizen, ditto. If you are a young black Muslim male with no baggage, and paid cash for a one way ticket to Detroit, then just maybe you're a problem. DUH.

Thom| 1.16.10 @ 6:01PM

I used to love to fly but that feeling went away long before 9/11. Recently I flew out of my local regional airport to and back through one of the US’s busiest airports. In both cases I did not have my toilet items in a plastic bag for some TSA agent to glance at. They were in my bags which just like the quart plastic bag goes through the same scanner the rest does. I’ve known from the get go that having people put their toilet items in a clear plastic bag to show the TSA agents is all about shaking the tree to see what falls out but still it is a non sense approach to actual security. My regulation tooth paste, shaving cream is easily enough volume to blow a rather large hole in any pressurized aircraft. People are the problem and our rather expensive and intrusive methods also happen to not be very effective as demonstrated.
On this particular trip the traffic level through the normally really busy airport was very light so the agents had time on their hands but given the way TSA is structured at such airports it would add an hour to what is already a mad house to implement Israeli methods. In this particular airport it is common during rush hours to have upwards of 1000 people huddled into close quarters making any kind of domestic bomber’s job real easy. It doesn’t even have to be a suicide bomber to get a very large bang for the buck. Like one poster said, I do my own security check when in an airport these days. The security scanner checkpoints are one of the most dangerous places in the world to hang around.
I’m sure the TSA is proud of the pocket knives, 4 oz containers of tooth paste, shaving cream, shampoo and alike it has kept off airlines since people claiming to have bombs flew airliners into buildings killing nearly 3000 people in exchange for 19 of theirs. Given one terrorist has already tried to hide explosives in his body cavity what is going to be their likely response to a successful attempt at that? Nothing short of flying naked and having complete body cavity searches is going to keep 3-6 ozes of high tech explosive off airlines by passengers. It will happen simply because technology makes it possible. We are not going to solve this problem with technology as we are trying desperately to do. If you don’t know your enemy you will continue to be taken for a fool as the Christmas Day attempted attack makes so very clear.

Yehudit| 1.16.10 @ 11:40PM

I dont know if you can teach any of this to the average TSA employee, or even to the kind of employee they would attract if they pay more. Every Israeli screener has been through the Israeli Army. They have all endured that kind of discipline, know how to handle and use firearms, have played war games if not actually been in combat, or have worked checkpoints, can work well with others, and have some kind of technical expertise.

I think this kind of background matters a lot when you are screening for bad guys. I bet a 22 year old right out of army training can do this better than a 40 year old practicing therapist. I think the best TSA screeners would be people with military and police training.

Sharon| 1.17.10 @ 8:28AM

Yehudit wrote an excellent comment. I would just add this: by the time the average Israeli teenager gets to the army, they've had a lifetime of of training in paying attention. Even small children are taught to be aware of bags that don't belong to anyone.

El Al security personnel take their job very seriously. They are all too aware of the horror and realism of terrorism. They also feel a kinship with the people getting on the plane and a desire to protect them. And even when the security personnel are "annoying," Israelis tend to be grateful that they're paying such close attention. On a recent trip back from Los Angeles via New York, I couldn't find the receipt for the bag I'd checked in LAX. The security agent wouldn't let me proceed to boarding without it. Even as I rooted around in my pockets, I was more than thankful that she was doing her job well.

kevin | 1.17.10 @ 9:15AM

i need to fly to las vegas for a seminar and quite frankly, i'm terrified.

Obama: A year later, I still think the guy is a commie wus.

Christopher Holland| 1.17.10 @ 8:37PM

Israeli methods will never be adopted in the US because you are addicted to the ridiculous idea that Islam is a religion of peace and terrorism is the work of isolated individuals. To use Israeli methods means abandoning these shiboleths and that won't happen in a million years. George W bush didn't do it in 8 years and Obama couldn't do it he lived a hundred lifetimes. Mainstream American political thought simply does not work like that.

Dag| 1.17.10 @ 10:12PM

America needs a wake up call. What professional law enforcement people used to call " good police work" is now called racial profiling and frowned upon.
Unfortunately today the USA does not have the guts to do what is necessary. We worry too much about what others may think and ignore exactly that which needs to be done.
Someone has to wake up and save the USA from it's self.

Reinhard| 1.19.10 @ 9:23AM

Our lack of discipline at following our own security protocols is a serious problem. One-way cash ticket, no luggage, and the guy still gets on the plane? Why can't the airline check-in systems flag this simple combination and alert security for a "second look"?

My Aunt in Germany has just declined to attend my daughters wedding because she's scared to get on a plane to the U.S. It's sad because she has visited us before, but is not worried about bombs on planes.

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AfriSynergy| 2.8.10 @ 3:40PM

At the airport in Amsterdam where Umar Mutallab was enabled and had a free pass to getting on the plane, who and what agency oversee the security at this airport? See the following:

ICTS is the main security vendor for the European operations of Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. We are also the sole provider of security services at all of American Airlines’ and US Airways European stations. [Note: As WRH assesses the terrorist plot at Amsteram Airport this is what it had to say: People are already asking how Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was able to get onto an airplane in Amsterdam bound for Detroit with a bomb strapped to his leg when the Amsterdam airport uses the full-body "see your naked butt" scanners. As it turns out, security at the Amsterdam airport is run by ICTS, THE VERY SAME ISRAELI-OWNED COMPANY THAT RAN SECURITY AT EVERY SINGLE AIRPORT FROM WHICH THE 9-11 TERRORISTS DEPARTED, APPARENTLY ALSO BYPASSING SECURITY CHECKS!]

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org.....ity-at-ams

T. West
CART/AfriSynergy

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Converse| 8.11.11 @ 9:43PM

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Goodwin| 9.15.11 @ 11:48AM

Wow, their methods sound pretty intense. I feel like I would be nervous talking to any of the security officers given my knowledge of the way they profile people. I get jittery going through airport security just wondering if I've left a bottle of water or anything in my carry-on so I can't imagine what a nervous wreck I'd be travelling throughout Israel.

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