While not specifically about airports, this book, supposedly talks a great deal about the mania of security that is paralyzing us today:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416541713

I've been reading a lot of Iraq-invasion books, and have come to accept that those who are responsible for signing off on "security" matters, are in the grip of paranoid thinking.

When the terrorists see us fighting amongst ourselves over security issues and a president in a state of denial, they can postone their next attack for a few years. That's what I think is happening. We'll spend billions on so-called homeland security, and then the terrorists will demonstrate that it was all wasted effort. But, ironically, we do get to get live our lives for a few years before the next attack, so I don't think the money was totally wasted.

Finished "What Terrorists Want" by Louise Richardson (after a lengthy wait on the library queue). She lays things out quite well, without being partisan. Recommended.

That's pretty specious reasoning.

My magic rock costs a lot less and is just as effective.

[paraphrased from The Simpsons]

Wouldn't it be much better to spend the $$ on something that is actually effective, rather than something that provides the illusion of effect, even if said illusion postpones the inevitable attack a "few years?"

Exactly. Nearly totally wasted is much better than totally wasted.

I am curious as to what that would be, in your opinion. No agenda here, I'm honestly curious.

Although I might disagree with you.....

You are probably too far ahead of your time with that statement!

But here's the thing that gets me, I have worked with (not for) various law enforcement and alphabet soup government agencies. I know for a fact that there is a lot going on in the background to fight the affectionately known "WOT" (but those in the trenches just know it as their everyday job). I'm actually amazed at all the succesful things that are done on a day to day basis that we don't or won't hear about...

...then i fly and witness the kabuki style theatrics to keep us fear mongering citizens safer from the evils...

I just don't get it. I really don't.

Yes, but then it would be much better for the government to not spend money on anything. But that would leave the people subjected to the government better off, and just as with the TSA and its stated intentions, the purpose of government is not to make its subjects better off.

If you do a quick search for posts by me or, say, Superguy, Spiff, etc. you'd probably have your answer.

At a minimum, screening all cargo would be a first step. Spending money to fix problems with the puffers and to deploy handheld "sniffers" rather than trusting x-rays to catch liquids they can hardly see would be a second step. Red-teaming to develop the most far-fetched scenarios and then brainstorming on what we could do to prevent those problems would be the next (and likely most effective) step, rather than reacting to every failed plot in some grand and doomed fighting of the last war.

Having worked with intel analysts, I know there are people out there doing this last bit, but largely on their own as "thought exercises" and not to the point anyone is listening to them.