May 31, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:In this article from the
In this article from the Christian Science Monitor, an Israeli security expert tells us how to make sure our planes are secure:
"If you want 100 percent security on flights, every passenger has to take all his clothes off, have his suitcase checked, and be handcuffed and tied to his seat."
Which should give Grandma quite a thrill.
Actually, even the security expert acknowleges this is impractical. Instead, he advocates changing our security system to one more like Israel's:
Israeli specialists have a low regard for American security searches. They say they tend to cause unnecessary discomfort for travelers, while being prone to missing potential assailants. "The United States does not have a security system, it has a system for bothering people," Dror says."The difference between the Israeli and American systems is that we are looking for the terrorist, while the Americans look for the weapons," he adds.
At the heart of the Israeli system is the questioning of the passenger, which Dror says is done not only to get answers, but also to gauge the passenger's behavior. "The reason we open the suitcase is to have another few minutes with the passenger, to ask some more questions," he says. The questioning also serves as a way to quickly decide who to send to the plane without probing more thoroughly, he adds. Dror advocates Israeli-style security clearances for all workers at the companies for whom he consults. They entail checking a person's history by interviewing acquaintances and family "We check the man himself, not documents."
There's a small problem with this, which is that our airports and airlines are expected to operate at a profit, not that they've been too successful at this in recent years. Israel picks up the tag for all that extra security, and for every money-losing flight El-Al makes (for one thing, their planes are too heavy to operate at a profit because of all that bombproofing). Are we willing to do the same? I'm not saying we shouldn't, mind you; just wondering if the American public is really willing to pay more, and put up with the lessened civil rights, for a better security system. Posted by Jane Galt at May 31, 2002 5:51 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links"); ?>