Bravery and luck saved Northwest Flight 253 passengers
Homeland Security Department’s and Transportation Security Administration’s knee-jerk reaction to the terrorist who hoped to kill 250 people is like adding injury to insult [“TSA post mired in politics,” News, Dec. 29].
Just luck and brave passengers saved those air passengers; not any security element played a part.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should have been the one going through pat-down security measures, not the traveling public inside the United States, after the fact.
Why doesn’t the TSA profile people who are possible terrorists before something happens, instead of afterward when they treat all passengers as would-be criminals?
Who have they ever caught?
Taking away nail clippers, too much hand lotion or toothpaste don’t count toward combating terrorists who mean to kill Americans.
Janet Napolitano, an amateur, should resign from secretary of Homeland Security Department because her leadership is really bad, and she doesn’t seem to have a clue how the organization should work.
— Jim Henderson, Walla Walla
Toenail clippers and mini scissors just don’t cut it
Homeland Security Department and Transportation Security Administration have again learned the wrong lesson from the latest airplane bomb threat.
One voice of reason was Ken Dunlap of the International Air Transportation Association: “We’ve spent eight years looking for little scissors and toenail clippers; perhaps the emphasis should be looking for bad people.”
Additional screening and explosives testing were not used on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because they are reserved for “travelers who trigger added scrutiny.” How is it that a young Muslim male, traveling alone on a one-way ticket purchased with cash, whose father had warned of his son’s growing militancy, did not trigger added scrutiny?
I never get through the metal detector without a thorough pat-down — because I have an artificial hip — and my carry-on luggage is always tested for explosives.
Something is fundamentally wrong when rigid security procedures force agents to spend 10-15 minutes on innocent travelers and 10 seconds on people like Abdulmutallab.
Dunlap is right; start focusing on dangerous people. Until we do, we will be no safer and will continue to reinforce the terrorist’s goal of making us feel ever more harassed, threatened and fearful.
— Matt Brislawn, Newcastle
Proactive and innovative solutions to stop terrorists
We need proactive and innovative solutions — we are at war with terrorists [“Airliner plot raises fears about al-Qaida in Yemen,” News, Dec. 28].
Airport security is not entirely working in the U.S. Thorough screening was used by the British to stop the Nigerian man from traveling. Our passengers seem to be stopping terrorists more than our security devices.
For 30 years, Israel has used behavioral patterns and special techniques to deter terrorists. We can learn from their expertise.
Our Homeland Security is failing badly and needs improvement. Why don’t we track Americans who travel frequently to terrorist countries? Our intelligence system needs revamping and the various components need to communicate with each other.
— Mark Litchman, Olympia
How do you spell security?
Let me see if I have this right: A Northwest agent fails to do his/her job properly. The FBI, as usual, doesn’t do theirs [“Bomb plot exposes air security weaknesses,” page one, Dec. 28].
We will now spend more of our tax dollars on ridiculous new equipment and hours more in long lines at the airport.
Yes, America, this is the way we spell security.
— Dave Barber, Maple Valley
Fragile, handle with care
So inch by inch, we lose our freedom on airlines because someone or some people want to show the world how pathetic they are.
Seems to me they’re winning this propaganda war; every time something happens in an airplane or airport, we lose more freedom. More screens, more strip-downs, more of everything these so-called terrorists want to happen.
People need to stand up for the right of freedom, not just in speaking but in travel. We pay more every six months when the airlines raise prices, but we lose more of our freedom on the airlines.
Should we just tag ourselves with “Fragile, handle with care” and wait for the UPS man to show up?
— Justin Carroll, Fort Collins, Colo.