Police Officer stabbed at Flint, Michigan Airport (landside)
Jun 21, 2017, 11:18 am
#1
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Police Officer stabbed at Flint, Michigan Airport (landside)
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/21/us/fli...ing/index.html
Police officer stabbed at Flint Airport (FNT). Occurred landside, attacker reported to be targeting law enforcement.
Cue renewal of 'curb-to-gate' security discussion.
I also expect we'll hear about renewed calls to make TSA screeners official LEO's based on concerns for their presumed vulnerability.
Police officer stabbed at Flint Airport (FNT). Occurred landside, attacker reported to be targeting law enforcement.
Cue renewal of 'curb-to-gate' security discussion.
I also expect we'll hear about renewed calls to make TSA screeners official LEO's based on concerns for their presumed vulnerability.
Jun 22, 2017, 4:46 am
#3
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Actual curbside security isn't going to happen. Sniffer dogs and heavily armed guards standing outside? Perhaps. But nothing on the scale of what's being done in Nairobi, Istanbul, or Baghdad -- a layer of screening checkpoints outside of the terminal.
TSA's underfunded and understaffed as it is, and it'd be quite a burden to magically place a new system landside -- and if it happened, travelers would have to arrive much earlier. It'd require significant infrastructure changes and funding. The public wouldn't stand for it and Congress isn't going to fund it unless a major incident occurred -- not a single stabbing.
Say 15-25 guys roll in carts of luggage filled with explosives and shrapnel into the check-in areas of ORD, LAX, ATL, DFW, CLT, MIA, and a few other big airports. Let's say they do it during the evening of Dec 23rd -- plenty of families, kids -- more inexperienced travelers than usual, more chaos overall. The check-in and TSA lines are packed. Bombs in multiple airports and multiple terminals go off, and 15 minutes later, when the first responders are on the scene, a timer detonates a second round of explosives. I'm no expert, but the number of casualties would be pretty high. DHS would take curbside security very seriously.
Even if curbside checkpoints were established, what stops terrorists from attacking those very checkpoints?
If you ask me, prevention and intelligence are a far more reliable way of stopping terrorist attacks. Good old fashioned spying and snooping, not subjecting innocent travelers to multiple pat-downs.
TSA's underfunded and understaffed as it is, and it'd be quite a burden to magically place a new system landside -- and if it happened, travelers would have to arrive much earlier. It'd require significant infrastructure changes and funding. The public wouldn't stand for it and Congress isn't going to fund it unless a major incident occurred -- not a single stabbing.
Say 15-25 guys roll in carts of luggage filled with explosives and shrapnel into the check-in areas of ORD, LAX, ATL, DFW, CLT, MIA, and a few other big airports. Let's say they do it during the evening of Dec 23rd -- plenty of families, kids -- more inexperienced travelers than usual, more chaos overall. The check-in and TSA lines are packed. Bombs in multiple airports and multiple terminals go off, and 15 minutes later, when the first responders are on the scene, a timer detonates a second round of explosives. I'm no expert, but the number of casualties would be pretty high. DHS would take curbside security very seriously.
Even if curbside checkpoints were established, what stops terrorists from attacking those very checkpoints?
If you ask me, prevention and intelligence are a far more reliable way of stopping terrorist attacks. Good old fashioned spying and snooping, not subjecting innocent travelers to multiple pat-downs.
Jun 22, 2017, 5:26 am
#4
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The criminal in this incident seems to have had something work him up into a crazy frenzy. Did he try to pick off the police officer in order to be able to attack others at the airport more easily?
Jun 22, 2017, 5:48 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,526
Actual curbside security isn't going to happen. Sniffer dogs and heavily armed guards standing outside? Perhaps. But nothing on the scale of what's being done in Nairobi, Istanbul, or Baghdad -- a layer of screening checkpoints outside of the terminal.
TSA's underfunded and understaffed as it is, and it'd be quite a burden to magically place a new system landside -- and if it happened, travelers would have to arrive much earlier. It'd require significant infrastructure changes and funding. The public wouldn't stand for it and Congress isn't going to fund it unless a major incident occurred -- not a single stabbing.
Say 15-25 guys roll in carts of luggage filled with explosives and shrapnel into the check-in areas of ORD, LAX, ATL, DFW, CLT, MIA, and a few other big airports. Let's say they do it during the evening of Dec 23rd -- plenty of families, kids -- more inexperienced travelers than usual, more chaos overall. The check-in and TSA lines are packed. Bombs in multiple airports and multiple terminals go off, and 15 minutes later, when the first responders are on the scene, a timer detonates a second round of explosives. I'm no expert, but the number of casualties would be pretty high. DHS would take curbside security very seriously.
Even if curbside checkpoints were established, what stops terrorists from attacking those very checkpoints?
If you ask me, prevention and intelligence are a far more reliable way of stopping terrorist attacks. Good old fashioned spying and snooping, not subjecting innocent travelers to multiple pat-downs.
TSA's underfunded and understaffed as it is, and it'd be quite a burden to magically place a new system landside -- and if it happened, travelers would have to arrive much earlier. It'd require significant infrastructure changes and funding. The public wouldn't stand for it and Congress isn't going to fund it unless a major incident occurred -- not a single stabbing.
Say 15-25 guys roll in carts of luggage filled with explosives and shrapnel into the check-in areas of ORD, LAX, ATL, DFW, CLT, MIA, and a few other big airports. Let's say they do it during the evening of Dec 23rd -- plenty of families, kids -- more inexperienced travelers than usual, more chaos overall. The check-in and TSA lines are packed. Bombs in multiple airports and multiple terminals go off, and 15 minutes later, when the first responders are on the scene, a timer detonates a second round of explosives. I'm no expert, but the number of casualties would be pretty high. DHS would take curbside security very seriously.
Even if curbside checkpoints were established, what stops terrorists from attacking those very checkpoints?
If you ask me, prevention and intelligence are a far more reliable way of stopping terrorist attacks. Good old fashioned spying and snooping, not subjecting innocent travelers to multiple pat-downs.
The pat downs are a show for the gullible public.
Jun 22, 2017, 5:55 am
#7
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I heard a news report stating that the bad guy asked the cop who tackled and subdued him: "Why didn't you shoot me?" It sounds like this may be a case of "suicide by cop" that went wrong.
Jun 22, 2017, 6:23 am
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He's had other opportunities to do this kind of thing in the US. But it's pretty hard to try to understand all that goes on in the mind of a nutcase. And being suicidal is a very strong indicator of having at least one major screw loose in the head.
Jun 22, 2017, 7:36 am
#9
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http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/21/us/fli...ing/index.html
Police officer stabbed at Flint Airport (FNT). Occurred landside, attacker reported to be targeting law enforcement.
Cue renewal of 'curb-to-gate' security discussion.
I also expect we'll hear about renewed calls to make TSA screeners official LEO's based on concerns for their presumed vulnerability.
Police officer stabbed at Flint Airport (FNT). Occurred landside, attacker reported to be targeting law enforcement.
Cue renewal of 'curb-to-gate' security discussion.
I also expect we'll hear about renewed calls to make TSA screeners official LEO's based on concerns for their presumed vulnerability.
I hate to point this out, but the "Curb to gate" discussion has never really gone away. There are positive cases to be made on both sides of the discussion, and there is no shortage of folks willing to make those arguments in the current landscape.
Jun 22, 2017, 7:47 am
#10
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Now from the security/industrial complex that's a different story. Gotta carve out some more retirement jobs for senior DHS/TSA employees.
Jun 22, 2017, 8:28 am
#11
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Years ago, I was in a conversation with a senior (at that time) U.S. counterintelligence official. He said, "Reality is what you perceive it to be." I agree that this is a complex situation. All it can take is for someone to stop taking their meds.
Jun 22, 2017, 8:36 am
#12
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He crossed into the US in upstate New York. On a trip between upstate NY and FNT, there are lots of people. I expect we won't hear a whole lot about more highway to airport curb security anytime soon from those who are eager to exploit such incidents too to peddle a narrative conveniently biased to serve their own narrow interests.