Counter-Terrorism 101: They cannot Kill What They Cannot See ...
A little over four years ago this nation was attacked. It was the most devastating and brutal attack has ever suffered in her two hundred thirty year history. It was very similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor in that this was a sneak attack. Here we were, safe and sound in the idea that we were virtually untouchable. Then, nineteen Islamic terrorists turned our safe and happy commercial airline industry into a weapon against us. Four planes were turned into crusie missiles over the course of a couple hours on a typical Tuesday morning.
By the end of the day, that Tuesday turned out to be anything but typical. Our world changed. We went to war, and instituted new measures to protect America. This has run the gamut from NSA surveillance to locate and monitor our enemies still here in hiding and more stringent security measures in airports.
However, the Federal Air Marshal Service has yet to change or adapt to the times we live in. Yes, we have increased the number of marshals on planes (not nearly enough to truly protect our airlines), but the lessons of 9/11 still have not been recognized.
What am I talking about? The same thing that Captain Ed spoke about this morning. That being that the air marshals are still required to maintain their business appearance dress code; this revealed in a report to be delivered to Congress, and released to the AP:
More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week.
The draft report, "Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security," cites the service's dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.
In practice, the report found, "many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings."
The report by the House Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press on Friday night, identified several policies by the service that the report concluded undercut the goal of preserving the marshals' anonymity.
The report also faults the service for requiring marshals to stay at designated hotels and show their credentials upon checking in. It said that in one instance, the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel in Florida designated the service "company of the month" because of the number of rooms it had reserved at the hotel.
"This public designation essentially advertises for any terrorist wishing to attack a location populated by a concentration of federal air marshals that such a target is the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport," the report says, referring to the hotel.
And the report raised questions about boarding procedures by marshals, expressing concern that these procedures could give away the identity of the marshals.
The committee, which initiated its investigation into the service in May 2004, said its staff interviewed 30 federal air marshals across the country.
"An overwhelming majority of the interviewed air marshals stated that most concerns centered around threats created by the service's own policies to preserving anonymity and safety," the report says.
The report also found the service's policy banning marshals from criticizing the service too broad, expressing concern that it was being used "as a retaliatory mechanism against those who vocalize legitimate concerns" about the service's policies.
Dave Adams, a spokesman for the service, said he had not seen the report. But he did say that the service "fully cooperated and addressed" concerns and inquiries made by the committee chairman, Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner.
Um, hello? Is anyone awake at the air marshals HQ? Having to wear proper attire--sports jacket, dress shoes, dress socks, and no jeans--simply screams "Kill me first" to a terrorist. And if the marshals' service superiors still think that we are dealing with some "backwoods" types that aren't "smart," think again. Our enemy is savvy, cagey, and determined to kill us. They were able to slip into this country (repeatedly, I might add) unbeknownst to any government branch. Only a few presidential intelligence briefs alluded to the possibility of Osama bin Laden striking us. There were no dates, no times, no locations, or numbers to go off of.
So, we knew it was a possibility, but the snafus created within the intelligence community somehow prevented us from acting instead of reacting. Fine. Mistakes happen (usually not to the tune of 3000 dead americans at the end of the day) and after a mistake is made, corrections should be made to avoid it ever happens again.
The air marshals' service should know this, yet they keep this ridiculous dress code in place. If I were a terrorist (fat chance, I am female, and not likely to kill myself to kill another) I would pick out the people on a plane that looks like they are travelling on business that have zero concept of casual attire. The object of an air marshal is to protect the plane and the people on board. They cannot do that if they cannot blend in.
This is a simple tactic, and one that gives an enemy doubt in their minds as to who the air marshal might be. The air marshals can handle the situation better if they are not always concerned about how many people on a plane might know who they are. And they simply cannot do their jobs "handcuffed" in this manner. I do hope when Rep. Sensenbrenner begins looking into this, appropriate changes will be made.
Thomas and I fly frequently. I would hate to see another 9/11 occur where the people on the plane have to respond because the air marshal(s) are dead because their superiors were stupid, and could not be flexible.
The Bunny ;)
A little over four years ago this nation was attacked. It was the most devastating and brutal attack has ever suffered in her two hundred thirty year history. It was very similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor in that this was a sneak attack. Here we were, safe and sound in the idea that we were virtually untouchable. Then, nineteen Islamic terrorists turned our safe and happy commercial airline industry into a weapon against us. Four planes were turned into crusie missiles over the course of a couple hours on a typical Tuesday morning.
By the end of the day, that Tuesday turned out to be anything but typical. Our world changed. We went to war, and instituted new measures to protect America. This has run the gamut from NSA surveillance to locate and monitor our enemies still here in hiding and more stringent security measures in airports.
However, the Federal Air Marshal Service has yet to change or adapt to the times we live in. Yes, we have increased the number of marshals on planes (not nearly enough to truly protect our airlines), but the lessons of 9/11 still have not been recognized.
What am I talking about? The same thing that Captain Ed spoke about this morning. That being that the air marshals are still required to maintain their business appearance dress code; this revealed in a report to be delivered to Congress, and released to the AP:
More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week.
The draft report, "Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security," cites the service's dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.
In practice, the report found, "many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings."
The report by the House Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press on Friday night, identified several policies by the service that the report concluded undercut the goal of preserving the marshals' anonymity.
The report also faults the service for requiring marshals to stay at designated hotels and show their credentials upon checking in. It said that in one instance, the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel in Florida designated the service "company of the month" because of the number of rooms it had reserved at the hotel.
"This public designation essentially advertises for any terrorist wishing to attack a location populated by a concentration of federal air marshals that such a target is the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport," the report says, referring to the hotel.
And the report raised questions about boarding procedures by marshals, expressing concern that these procedures could give away the identity of the marshals.
The committee, which initiated its investigation into the service in May 2004, said its staff interviewed 30 federal air marshals across the country.
"An overwhelming majority of the interviewed air marshals stated that most concerns centered around threats created by the service's own policies to preserving anonymity and safety," the report says.
The report also found the service's policy banning marshals from criticizing the service too broad, expressing concern that it was being used "as a retaliatory mechanism against those who vocalize legitimate concerns" about the service's policies.
Dave Adams, a spokesman for the service, said he had not seen the report. But he did say that the service "fully cooperated and addressed" concerns and inquiries made by the committee chairman, Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner.
Um, hello? Is anyone awake at the air marshals HQ? Having to wear proper attire--sports jacket, dress shoes, dress socks, and no jeans--simply screams "Kill me first" to a terrorist. And if the marshals' service superiors still think that we are dealing with some "backwoods" types that aren't "smart," think again. Our enemy is savvy, cagey, and determined to kill us. They were able to slip into this country (repeatedly, I might add) unbeknownst to any government branch. Only a few presidential intelligence briefs alluded to the possibility of Osama bin Laden striking us. There were no dates, no times, no locations, or numbers to go off of.
So, we knew it was a possibility, but the snafus created within the intelligence community somehow prevented us from acting instead of reacting. Fine. Mistakes happen (usually not to the tune of 3000 dead americans at the end of the day) and after a mistake is made, corrections should be made to avoid it ever happens again.
The air marshals' service should know this, yet they keep this ridiculous dress code in place. If I were a terrorist (fat chance, I am female, and not likely to kill myself to kill another) I would pick out the people on a plane that looks like they are travelling on business that have zero concept of casual attire. The object of an air marshal is to protect the plane and the people on board. They cannot do that if they cannot blend in.
This is a simple tactic, and one that gives an enemy doubt in their minds as to who the air marshal might be. The air marshals can handle the situation better if they are not always concerned about how many people on a plane might know who they are. And they simply cannot do their jobs "handcuffed" in this manner. I do hope when Rep. Sensenbrenner begins looking into this, appropriate changes will be made.
Thomas and I fly frequently. I would hate to see another 9/11 occur where the people on the plane have to respond because the air marshal(s) are dead because their superiors were stupid, and could not be flexible.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home