wigstheone
Feb 19, 02, 4:52 pm
MONTREAL (AP)--The U.S. pledged $1 million this year and more money in the next two years for a sweeping audit of aviation security around the world, U.S. officials told an international conference Tuesday.
U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson said evaluating security at airports and airlines was a necessary part of new strategies required in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The U.S. is pushing the International Civil Aviation Organization - a 187-nation U.N. body - to approve an action plan that calls for the $17 million global audit and other steps.
ICAO President Assad Kotaite opened the group's two-day security conference by noting terrorists introduced a new threat - civil aircraft used as "weapons of mass destruction" - and saying the world must act to prevent future tragedies like Sept. 11.
"One fatal act of unlawful interference, one fatal accident is one too many," Kotaite told the hundreds of delegates from more than 140 countries and 22 international organizations. "We must do more, especially since today we are faced with a whole new dimension of threat."
The "Aviation Security Plan of Action" under consideration at the conference calls for "universal, regular, mandatory, systematic and harmonized" audits of security standards and practices recommended by the organization.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,DI_CO_20020219_007014,00.html?mod=air
U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson said evaluating security at airports and airlines was a necessary part of new strategies required in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The U.S. is pushing the International Civil Aviation Organization - a 187-nation U.N. body - to approve an action plan that calls for the $17 million global audit and other steps.
ICAO President Assad Kotaite opened the group's two-day security conference by noting terrorists introduced a new threat - civil aircraft used as "weapons of mass destruction" - and saying the world must act to prevent future tragedies like Sept. 11.
"One fatal act of unlawful interference, one fatal accident is one too many," Kotaite told the hundreds of delegates from more than 140 countries and 22 international organizations. "We must do more, especially since today we are faced with a whole new dimension of threat."
The "Aviation Security Plan of Action" under consideration at the conference calls for "universal, regular, mandatory, systematic and harmonized" audits of security standards and practices recommended by the organization.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,DI_CO_20020219_007014,00.html?mod=air