TSA chief John Pistole said that despite internal advice that he “get out ahead” of potential uproar over the more invasive pat-down procedures that have been rolled out at airports across the country, he elected to withhold a public announcement for fear that terrorists could exploit it:
In an hour-long discussion with reporters, Pistole said media officials at the Department of Homeland Security had urged him to “get out ahead” of the potential controversy by formally announcing plans for enhanced body searches and the use of new x-ray and radio-wave imaging devices at 70 airports beginning in November.
But doing so would have provided a “roadmap or blueprint for terrorists” to avoid detection by using other airports where the new technology wasn’t in place, Pistole said.
Rather than publicize the changes, Pistole said he made a “risk-based” decision to roll it out first and “try to educate the public after we did that.
More here.
Isn't it odd that the Obama Admin sued Arizona to stop cops from asking for ID's from suspected illegal immigrants? But now it's okay for the Government to grope little kids at airports? Dub-Tee-Eff?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBy "terrorists could exploit it", of course he means that "voters could vote in the mid-term elections as a referendum on it"? Right?
Without commenting on the merits of these new pat-downs, its patently absurd to assert this was kept quiet for any reasons other than political expediency.
Really, how stupid does he think we are?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI suspect that the TSA has been thoroughly infiltrated. Details that passengers will not know, terrorists likely will know.
Whatever the mind of man can invent to bother passengers, TSA will roll out in due course. It's time for passenger airlines to protect their own future.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAlso, it's strange that Pistole is so concerned about giving terrorists a "head's up." When he was at the FBI, he approved a memo that stated the FBI would have no part in the "coercive interrogations" of terrorists.
"Pistole and Valerie E. Caproni were the two FBI officials who approved a memo laying out the FBI’s policy on the limits to the interrogation of captives taken during the United States’ war on terror. The memo was from the FBI’s General Counsel, to all offices, explaining that FBI officials were not allowed to engage in coercive interrogations; FBI officials were not allowed to sit in on coercive interrogations conducted by third parties; FBI officials were required to immediately report any instances of suspected coercive interrogation up the FBI chain of command."
But he's perfectly okay with putting innocent Americans through coercive pat-downs? What's wrong with this guy?
Link: External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAm I the only one who remembers the Manhattan fly-over and how this administration "opted out" of informing the public in advance to alleviate potential fears and concerns?
There is a trend with these people of "shoot first, ask questions afterwards" that is no accident, alas. It is a "we can do no wrong" mindset, not to mention a "they can't handle the truth" superiority complex.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@Scott, @RAM: This was rolled out as an "eat your vegetables" policy. They knew people would see this as broccoli, and so they opted for the stern father approach. Hence the recent threats of fines, jail time and investigating Mr. "Junk". I agree with the "how stupid do you think we are?" comment. A: Pretty Darn Stupid. The aggressive pat downs are designed to scare people into the naked body scans. That they would adopt a strategy of "lets intimidate the general public into compliance" using very aggressive tactics is what should bother people...not the tactics themselves.
They've also been caught in some falsehoods...such as that images are not saved. They'll save them for Training purposes, and we can expect the very pixilated stuff the public gets to see is not the "good stuff" the TSA either has or is in the works. Kind of like Google Earth...decent, but nothing less than 2m imagery. DoD has MUCH sexier imagery capability.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf Mr. Pistole isn't concerned that terrorists will exploit the Obama administration's kinder, gentler approach to dealing with terrorists, he shouldn't be concerned about the exploitation opportunities provided by the infamous and invasive pat-down procedures.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse...But guys, you're missing the point. We CAN sustain another attack.
Look, until we profile for you know, terrorists, we're just pretending to be serious. It kind of reminds me of myself in college.
Who are we kidding? Profile already.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCream pie meets face.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTotally agree with Lucky. You can't stop all terrorist attacks by merely looking for weapons as they will always find a way through. You must find the terrorists, and that requires psychological and character profiling.
On a side not, I wonder if pat-downs and strip searches would be allowed in interrogation. Islamists are known for fearing shame.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"He was afraid the terrorists would exploit it" They
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseve already won if this is where we are at.