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[IP] more on TSA and Fear



Begin forwarded message:

From: Chris Gulker <cg@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 27, 2006 11:08:51 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] TSA and Fear
I think Lauren's observation is perspicacious. It is clear (if you travel even a little bit) that TSA policies are capricious and enforced willy-nilly from town to town - a complete ad hoc performance as far as I can see. In very recent experience, Newark and Kansas City, Denver and San Francisco all have very different styles, if not policies at the turnstyle as it were.
In New York (JFK) a couple weeks ago, I was told a one-hour delay in baggage coming off the plane was because TSA insisted on x-raying bags coming *off* the plane. In Kansas City 2 weeks ago, you could drink water from a bottle on the concourse, but only if the bottle top had been confiscated. Elsewhere, I've seen passengers with liter bottles go through the line and get on the plane, at the height of the 'liquid and gel' scare (which threat has been known since 1984, judging from the literature).
In every large enterprise I've ever worked for, the culture did indeed come down from the top. Terrorists aren't likely to be put off by TSA policy or culture: they will only be deterred by TSA competence at detecting them. If TSA's fear culture bred competence, I'd be all for it.
What i've been seeing for my last 6 years on airplanes, however, has not been encouraging. I think Bruce Schneier is right: the real deterrent has been strong doors on cockpits, and passengers who will no longer tolerate hijack attempts at any cost, not TSA's inconsistent, and, I fear, ineffectual security-line 'theatre'. 


On Sep 27, 2006, at 7:39 AM, David Farber wrote:




Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 27, 2006 10:30:35 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: lauren@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: TSA and Fear


Dave,

The TSA-related behavior at the front lines should hardly be
a surprise.  It's hard even to really fault those field agents.
Such behavior almost always flows from the top, and it's clear that
the administration has fostered a climate of fear that has been
indoctrinated into the powers-that-be at TSA and all the way down
through the organizational chart.

I'm not talking so much about fear of terrorists, but rather fear of
losing their jobs if they let one perceived "unusual" case through
that turned out to be a problem later (or, more likely, a test case
to make sure that the bizarre interpretations of law being
promulgated are rigorously enforced).  Shucks, that "free speech"
stuff is always getting in the way, isn't it?

But gosh Mr. Peabody, what else would you expect from a TSA that
forced its "undercover" operatives to dress like they were attending
a funeral, and an administration that makes a big deal out of
releasing portions of an NIE with top-secret analytical gems
amounting to "the war in Iraq has inspired terrorists" (duh), and
"terrorists will make increased use of the Internet" (double-duh).

As the old saying goes, "What goes around, comes around."

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@xxxxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxx
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
   - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com




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