Originally Posted by sobore
This post really brings to light what many have been witnessing for a long time. The focus on the passenger is so intense that the surrounding infrastructure is security deficient. We have all heard stories of people wandering onto the tarmac, the lack of cargo inspection and people without credentials being in places they should not. The terrorists are not stupid and will strike at the weakest link in the chain of security. The safety of an airport has to planned on all levels, passenger, workers, cargo, secure areas, perimeter, parking etc..
Until someone with monumental authority realizes the entire airport needs to be sanitized, everyone's security is at risk .
Thank you! This post illustrates the root of one of my airport security essays and studies that I completed in 1990. Right now, almost every focus of airport security is directed at the passengers and their personal baggage. This is for two reasons:
1. Because of 9/11 and the long history of inflight hijackings dating back to DB Cooper, the threat focus has always been directed at 'in the air' issues. Hijackings, bombings, etc. are viewed as the only credible threats to aviation. Ground infrastructure has been given a robust, but loosely enforced/maintained focus. I used to enter the sterile area at YYZ every single day for two summers with the photo ID of another employee (a female, no less) which had the wrong ID color for the zone I entered. I was never stopped or questioned, even by police.
2. The government, for some reason, believes that security and marketing go hand in hand. They believe security must have a dual purpose - isolate threats and boost user confidence. The 'boost user confidence' focus is ultimately what we have been suffering through since 9/11, Richard Reid and the recent 'water bombers'. There is a belief that making security visible and tactile for the user will make them confident in the process. Ultimately, this has gone overboard, but enough people still support this approach by their public statements that it makes them feel safer. As these users (we call them Sheeple here) experience the process and verbalize their support for it, it enourages confidence and keeps people flying. If security was less tactile and more hidden, people might wonder what is being done to protect them, and their willingness to travel might be impacted.
The most realistic threats continue to be explosives and other dangerous media introduced into the sterile environment through its weakest links - namely, through the fence operations, cargo, catering, maintenance, etc. These are the threats most easily pulled off and the most likely to succeed.
What seems to keep the focus on the cabin environment could be a change in how terrorists want to execute their crimes. I mentioned this in a previous post, but I detect a sense of 'showmanship' has befallen the 'terrorism industry'. No longer content to blow something up from a distance and call in responsibility after the fact, it seems today's terrorists want to be part of the action and generate a certain fear and loathing within the victims in the moments before their crime. I am not a terrorism expert, so this is only my personal observation. If the focus returns to more clandestine approaches to wreck havoc, rest assured there is nothing the TSA, DHS or the government at large will be able to do to stop them. Airport security remains as it always has been - a wall of swiss cheese with fairly obvious exploitable holes.