Originally Posted by Wally Bird

+1

The reason that these security types have a hard-on for photographers is that those are the only people they are capable of "detecting". The chances of any of them actually encountering a terrorist is approximately zero. The likelihood they would be able to identify a terrorist as such is exactly zero.

Pick on and intimidate some innocuos citizen and they can go home that night feeling "I have protected America again today !"

There is a truth that the security machine will deny or ignore. The terrorists are smarter than those trying to stop them; since it is necessary to stop somebody, photographers are obvious and easy targets. Terrorists are neither obvious nor easy which is why token security is just that - token.