Mats

Yesterday I went to the Cleveland Air Show. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed the air show. I was surprised, however, by the absence of security theater.

I hadn't been to an air show in perhaps 15 years. So I figured that they'd have police everywhere, metal detectors, and a big show of force.

There was nothing of the sort, and I didn't see any police.

The irony--in my mind--was that the air show gives the public to climb around military and commercial aircraft, visit their flight decks, take photos of them, and ask detailed questions about their performance and capabilities.

Wouldn't Kip and Mike Chertoff throw a fit if they thought about this? Imagine if someone foreign (or foreign-influenced) took pictures of these aircraft? People were at this air show, among planes, and there were liquids everywhere! It was like a free-for-all!

flysurfer

You mean there weren't any tourists (basically the same as terrorists, I know) taking pictures?

And you mean that bloody foreigners don't know how to type "airliners.net" in their browsers?

Mats

I saw some obviously foreign people there with cameras, taking pictures of the planes. I tried to distract them while my friends called the DHS. I hope those "tourists" are at Gitmo by now.

flysurfer

Well done, you saved the day! ^
Mass rendition.

PatrickHenry1775

The aircraft at the show were not airliners carrying Ma and Pa Kettle, so no need for security theater to impress the once-a-year passengers. Another poster adopted a signature exactly on point: If passengers cannot see it, it does not contribute to "security" - TSA philosophy (I am paraphrasing)

We Will Never Forget

How are you paraphrasing?

Hasn't it seemed to prove itself?

(Don't get me wrong, there is PLENTY that goes on behind the scenes to keep the airline industry safe, but the majority of what you actually see is window dressing.)

bocastephen

Give us some generic examples Besides listening to the so-called 'chatter' and checking out various leads, what exactly is the DHS and TSA doing behind the scenes to keep the airline industry safe?

I mean besides leaving the very obvious gaping holes open, like not screening cargo, leaving through-the-fence-ops security pretty much wide-open, not leveraging technology for passenger screening, etc. I'm just not sure what secret operations are going on, or could be going on that would actually have some quantifiable effect.

Are you suggesting that attack plots are continually being broken up and conspirators are being whisked away to secret courts for interrogation and trial out of the public eye, all in secret?

MikeMpls

The Air Force brings its own security details to the airshows, armed to the bone. Usually you won't see them.

At Oshkosh this year, the F-22 was as closely accessible as any other roped off aircraft, although there were a couple extra & very alert guards (sidearms only) inside the rope.

At air shows on military bases, the security varies. At Offutt (Omaha), all civilians enter thru off-base staging locations. In 2005 we were all wanded & pocket contents eyeballed, I had to give up my nail clippers. At Mountain Home (south of Boise) later the same year, they weren't checking much of anything.

Keep in mind that the Air Force personnel who are in and around the planes with the air show patrons probably all qualify regularly with firearms (my father did when he was in the Air Force as an electronics tech), and the weapons are there somewhere if they need them. It's a lot more secure than it might appear to be at first glance.

iCorpRoadie

shhh, don't give him ideas!

Wally Bird

Just following orders, no doubt. Orders outrank rational thinking.

Fools.