In the end, security is an illusion. Nothing is one hundred percent secure. The idea is to make wise choices that have the best effect while not impacting our standard of life.
The most unfortunate part of terrorism is that our response to it as a society is that we have a tendency to sacrifice our freedoms in the name of security. As Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
An eleven year old boy managed to fly from Manchester, England to Rome, without a passport, ticket or boarding pass. This involved bypassing five separate security checks by tagging along with parents traveling with other children. He was only discovered when fellow passengers, concerned he was sitting alone and seemed unhappy, that he was running away from home.
So, he passed through a passport and boarding pass check, a screening checkpoint, another passport and boarding check at the gate, a check on entrance to the aircraft, and a head count by cabin crew. Admittedly, that is more than we do in the United States. Several employees have been fired, and an investigation is pending.
So, the child has never flown before, has never had a passport, is likely unfamiliar with airport security, and he just walked through it by looking like he belonged? Isn’t searching for people who act suspicious a part of security procedures?
It was earlier today that TSA Administrator Pistole told the press that intelligence had caused them to change their approach to a recent threat. We hope that the TSA continues to emphasize intelligence in all security decisions, as being aware of what is going on is much more effective than alternative measures.
