Correct answer is probably "both."

It's very easy, amid the lame signage of the poorly designed IAD, to wind up in the "wrong" place.

Seems like in this tale of woe, it took Polonius a long time to fight through a lot of unreasonable government officials before he found one who did the reasonable thing.

You seem like a reasonable fellow, AC110, and you'd probably go along with the request that you rescreen, then walk out through the terminal.

My friend Polonius here is not so reasonable a fellow that he will not insist on his rights and demand that the Federal officials at TSA and Customs take the reasonable approach and allow him back to the "right" place, or (as the one reasonable fellow, an IAD cop, finally did) take personal responsibility for transporting him back around front and tell him he is "free to go."

You make life easier for TSOs. Polonius, eventually, if there are enough like him, make life better for me.