I sent an email to the contact center on December 11, 2007 asking if it was TSA policy to allow a passenger to watch as his carry-on bag was searched or not. To date I have yet to receive a definitive answer. I've gotten replies about checked baggage and information on how to submit a claim for damaged luggage but nothing that addressed my actual question.

I've pretty much decided that the contact center is an automated setup that responds to certain keywords in the inquiry received and sends a canned response with no human intervention. The alternative explanation is that if people actually look at the inquiries, they are incapable of comprehending plain English and basic thought. If you think that sounds too harsh, I'll be happy to post the entire email chain and let you judge for yourself.