Putting the moron back in the oxymoron that is the phrase 'Airport security,' screeners turn out to be wholly incompetent at finding dangerous materials.
Security screeners at 21 U.S. airports failed to find bomb-making materials during recent government tests, NBC Nightly News reported on Thursday. Federal agents carrying materials that could be used to make bombs escaped detection in airport screening during tests conducted between October and January, NBC said, citing government sources. "In all 21 airports tested, no machine, no swab, no screener anywhere stopped the bomb materials from getting through. Even when investigators deliberately triggered extra screening of bags, no one stopped these materials," the report said.
This abysmal job performance is despite the fact that the Transportation Security Administration, in the months after 9/11, spent as much as $143,000 per screener on simply recruiting these fine folks.
For how a few opportunists got rich by taking the clueless TSA for all it's worth, see here.
Somebody tell me again: How does hiring a some mullethead to paw your sister in the airport help catch Bin Laden?
Most of the the Thousands Standing Around employees I've seen look like refugees from the mail room and the old folks home, with a hearty streak of the non-English speaking world thrown in. If these are security professionals then I'm an astronaut.
Posted by: Martin Owens | Friday, March 17, 2006 at 11:35 AM