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The Atlantic on the TSA's "security theater"
This month's The Atlantic has an interesting article by Jeffrey Goldberg on the flaws and loopholes inside of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. In it, Goldberg tries to get to the bottom of why some of these ridiculous polices exist and how easy it is to get around them.In on example, to circumvent the 3-1-1 liquid policy (where one is only allowed 3.4oz of any particular liquid onto an aircraft) he donned a beer belly and brought two full beers through the security checkpoint. He also manages to get through with multiple questionable items, including giant Hezzbollah flags, Osama Bin Laden t-shirts and other "dangerous" goods. Even when he's trying to get caught.
Through these experiments, Goldberg asks the simple question: Why put these securities in place when they can be circumvented? And eventually he gets the chance to speak with Kip Hawley about this. The director of the TSA concedes that there are risks that still prevail, but also that they're working on ways to tighten up security. From way Goldberg frames his article, it seems like they've got a lot of work left yet to do.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AT Oct 20th 2008 11:09AM
I don't get how these are "loopholes". They seem more tricks to me. Using a beer belly is trying to sneak liquid through security. A loophole is where security knows what you are doing but can't stop you for a certain reason. So sneaking beer in a belly pouch would be deceiving security, not using a built in loop hole.
And the shirts and flags and things would probably be considered profiling of some sort if you were stopped by security. Having a Hezbollah flag and a Bin Laden t-shirt may be stupid socially, but by no means illegal.