The Israeli security process is a double-edged sword. I've read various comments in these forums how Israel has the best airport security in the world, how TSA should strive to be more like the Israelis, blah, blah, blah, yadi, yadi, yadi, bada-bing, bada-bang.

Americans would never tolerate that type of security process. I don't know how accurate this article is; pretty difficult to write an objective article with security officials refusing to contribute. But I do believe this is an honest effort to address Israeli security; just have to keep in mind that this is based on the opinions and views of those who have had negative experiences as well as the off-the-record views of those who apparently have a keener insight.

The biggest difference between the challenges faced by Israel and by the United States is that Israel can afford to make some assumptions based on ethnicity, race, religion and culture. The terrorists who murder Jews are predominantly Arab or are non-Jew such as European mercenaries who were pretty active during the 70's. As a melting pot of various cultures, customs, traditions, religions and creeds, the United States faces a completely different challenge. We cannot simply point the finger at Arabs or Middle Easterners and label them as would-be terrorists. Furthermore, while most people have a picture of what an Arab terrorist looks like, upon further inspection, it is difficult to tell the difference between an Arab and a Mexican, a Spaniard, a Frenchman, an African, an African-American, a Haitian, a Nicaraguan, a Canadian, and the list could continue. To illustrate this point a little more blatantly, google pictures of Zacarias Moussaoui and try to point out how he looks "Arab." He doesn't.

The flip side of that coin is that terrorists do come in all shapes and colors, and radical Islamic-based terrorism is not the only terrorist threat facing airlines nor is it the only threat. The first recorded terrorist attack against a commercial airliner was done by a man hoping to kill his own mother so that he could collect on the insurance policy he had on her. And there are a host of other ethnically-based groups pissed off enough at us to attempt a terrorist attack against US airliners that have no connection whatsoever with al Qai'da or any other Islamic radical fundamentalist group.

Add to that the fundamental principles of American law that are based on acts towards the commission of a crime. In other words, pulling someone aside for additional scrutiny has to be based on something more than just a hunch or gut feeling. While I don't agree with the pre-selected passenger screening policy, I do have to acknowledge that it is based on certain patterns associated with previous terrorist activities. Perhaps they are based on "the last war" rather than the current one, but my point is that TSA and the federal government can point to certain indicators and cite them as the basis for selecting certain passengers for additional screening AND denying them access into the sterile area or delaying them without further scrutiny. Unlike Israel, we cannot act based on a person's accent, dialect, habits or other cultural subtleties. If that person has a prohibited item or is violating a law, then we cannot detain or delay them until we "sweat 'em out."

And TSA does not conduct strip searches. Israeli security apparently does.

For those of you who say that TSA conducts a dog and pony security show, think a moment about all the legal restrictions that limit the extent of security screening. I'm not complaining; I think these restrictions are sound. I'm just pointing out that when you look past the rhetoric and hyperbole, there are laws and policies in place that limit the extent of a TSA search, including the so-called "strip searches."

For this reason, I have mixed feelings about the Behavior Detection Officer position. I have visions of that bugged-eyed inspector looking at ballots for hanging chads back in the 2000 election. Not that I think behavior detection is a bad thing; I think it is an extremely effective security tool. I just don't trust TSA to properly train a cadre of BDOs and then deploy them effectively throughout the roughly 460 airports TSA supports. And no matter who is selected, someone is ALWAYS going to claim they are being racially profiled. Happens enough already whenever we respond off the SSSS on the boarding passes. And I've seen black passengers accuse black TSOs of racial profiling as well as any combination of other ethnicities make the same claim. I see this as a minefield that will explode in the courtroom once a complaint turns into a lawsuit even in those cases that are solidly based on documented characteristics associated with terrorist behavior patterns. It takes a very unique personality and well-trained person to pull it off. Even so, as this article points out, there are still those who feel that they've been unjustly singled out and unfairly treated.

From this perspective, I applaud the OP for introducing this article and hope it opens some eyes on both sides of the issue.

Be careful of what you ask for.....you just might get it.