What's that got to do with anything??? An excellent system is an excellent system - not that I would say Europe has an excellent system, merely a good one, versus the U.S., which has a poor one - and the number of small airports has nothing to do with it.

When you design a system properly, it will not matter how big it is, scale is secondary.

And you won't get into the secure area of an airport in Germany by running through an unguarded exit, by the way.


[This message has been edited by msn (edited 11-18-2001).]

Isn't it self evident that anything that grows larger and more diverse becomes more complex and difficult to manage?

More to the point, we have a large number of small airports that may service a couple of flights each day. Security people at these airports will by definition be less trained and a more diverse group, yet the passengers from these airports will be delivered and will blend into the secured areas of major airports. This is just one example of a problem that the Europeans don't face.

If you have all your eggs in one basket, it's obviously easier to keep an eye on them.

Failed the Citizens of the United States in his duty of overseeing security at the airports.

I don't mean on 9-11; I mean all the information that came to light about how security was run at airports under his watch.

A CFO will go down if it's found that the books were cooked and therefore failed on his duty to shareholders. Mineta should go on the same basis.

How long had it been between when he was confirmed and the islamic terrorist attacks? Did he make some bad change, or was it just that he didn't change things in time on his watch? Did he have the power to make necessary changes? I don't understand if there is something specific he did that upsets you.

I think your anger is misdirected at Mineta and should be more focused on Congress. Anything Mineta could have done to tick you off so much is weird as he has only held that position for the last 10 months. Keep in mind that no one in Congress ever publically derided airport and airline safety and demanded new security measures in the years before 9/11.

I am disappointed at the complete lack of accountability.

Did Mineta make a change in the Standard Operating procedure at teh DOT in his previous 10 months? W hat has changed in airport security since before january of 2001? (I mean besides the stupid moves made post 9/11 to soothe the public?)

Scotty00 has the right idea-look to Congress and not just Mineta.

However, in this case it is a distiction without a difference. Mineta was on the House Transportation Committee for 21 years and was Chairman for eight years prior to his being named Transportation Secretary.

I strongly believe that members of Congress who have been on the various intelligence committees should resign and give others a chance. Will others do better? I don't know but they can't do worse and at least we won't have incumbents justifying their ineffective efforts of the past.

Get real everybody.
If we really want to be safe at the airports and in the skies, we need the US Military to do the job right.
An added benefit...it could even reduce unemployment; just think, the Army might actually be able to meet it's enlistment quota. And it really will be safer, because the security people will be trained and totally focused on their jobs. The US is behind the rest of the world here.