Originally Posted by dgolding
Exempting cleared government (or contractor) staff from any sort of inspection is a poor idea. Not because it will make the skies more or less safe (TSA is probably neutral in that regard, post-911), but because it is important that government employees "enjoy" the exact same treatment as everyone else. Thats it - its simply about fairness. If cleared personel are exempt from some or all inspection, that would mean that senior TSA/DHS staff - all of whom are cleared - would also enjoy such an exemption. Thats a terrible idea. In industry, its called "eating your own dog food". Whatever you call it, it is doubly important when you are talking about government decision makers in a democracy.
The other issue is that terrorists are smart. If they know that cleared staff are exempt from certain screening, they will leverage that knowledge. Of course, this assumes that civil aviation is still a priority target for terrorists, a doubtful premise at this point time, considering the wide availability of much softer targets. These guys are not one-trick ponies.
I don't think anyone is saying that people with a clearance should be exempt from "some or all inspection." All we're saying is that it doesn't make sense to include people who have been vetted in some way on lists of people requiring "extra" screening. It's not about "eating your own dog food." It's about limited resources. Having said that, I don't think any of us who hold clearances would advocate for a nanosecond that the TSA obtain a list of all of us with clearances for reasons stated above.