Originally Posted by n5667
It wasn't a conclusion - it was a question - you ought not jump to such conclusions.
So let me reiterate more clearly: my question is that if we don't screen for a threat in one obvious place that has already been utilized by an attempted terrorist, what's the point of screening at all?..
There has been a grand total of 1 attempts to use shoes to blow up a plane. One. Out of literally billions of boardings. This is not a credible enough threat. Moreover, terrorists are not stupid, even though the TSA seems to think they are. Undergarments and body cavities can be used instead of shoes very easily.
Instead of wasting resources and destroying civil liberties trying to REACT to a once in a billion attempt, a smarter plan would instead be PROACTIVE and screen for explosives that could be hidden in undergarments or body cavities in addition to shoes. The GE EntryScan3 does this. Also, simply swabbing non-alarming shoes with ETD accomplishes this and is more likely to detect trace amounts of explosives hidden in other places.
Instead, the ignorant little jackasses in charge of the TSA choose to conduct strip-searches of passengers by forcing them to deshoe. In addition to that, passengers who refuse this unreasonable request are given a retaliatory groping. This action by the TSA demonstates that they have zero common sense, zero knowledge of material science, and zero respect for passengers' civil liberties.
Such a disgrace of an organization should be dismantled.
