Likely Terror Attack ‘Dry Run’ Exposes Dangerous TSA Missteps (Updated)
Because al Soofi’s mock bombs did not contain actual explosive material, TSA allowed him to board the plane and fly to Chicago. While defying common sense, carrying mock IEDs does not defy TSA security. Apparently neither does the fact that al Soofi was carrying $7,000 in cash and was destined for Yemen.
Let me make sure I have this right. Checking bags containing mock bombs does not violate TSA rules, but my Leatherman Wave tool, carried in my backpack when I’m flying, does? I guess they are afraid that I might disassemble the plane in flight. Not to mention my cigar lighter, which is packed in with my cigars. That’s a distinct threat to airline safety, but a guy who apparently figured out how to bypass security in Chicago, IL, change his destination to a different continent didn’t arouse even a glimmer of suspicion from the crack TSA staff.
Most confounding of all is the fact that the TSA has no follow-up protocols. Why wasn’t the TSA in Chicago notified by the TSA in Alabama that a suspicious passenger named Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi (who was to headed to Yemen, the State Department’s newest, biggest al-Qaeda concern) was coming through O’Hare with checked bags packed with knives, box cutters, and mock bombs? The TSA’s annual budget costs taxpayers $8 billion dollars a year. What are they spending those dollars on? How many suspicious moves does it take to catch a terror suspect in a federalized airport today?
Wait! I know! I know! Because no one wanted to offend al Soofi merely because he’s a Muslim acting suspiciously and traveling with suspicious items. Nope, TSA is too busy strip searching 90 year old grannies in wheelchairs or feeling up the breasts of nubile young women under the guise of “National Security”.
Dissolve the TSA, allow American citizens who are licensed to carry firearms to carry them onto planes. Better yet, use some of that $8 Billion to buy frangible ammunition and sell it at cost to armed airline passengers. The traveling public will be much safer at much lower cost.
No, I’m not kidding.
Of course I’m flying to Baltimore tomorrow, so no doubt I’ll end up getting “extra” screening because of my CPAP or laptop. Dangerous character that I am of course.
What I’m confused by was the mention of $7,000 in cash and Yemen.
TSA doesn’t give a damn about cash when leaving the country; ICE does.
And the ICE cutoff is $10,000, last I checked, so he’d be in the clear.
(And why should a checked bag containing nothing explosive or illegal break their rules?
It’s not like he can hijack a plane with a checked fake bomb by showing it to people and claiming it’s real. And if he’s going to say “there’s a bomb in the cargo area!” he doesn’t need to check a fake one…)
The TSA is almost purely security theater and most of their prohibitions are stupid and ineffective… but the cash and checked luggage things here? No issue.
Sooooo . . . next time I leave a knife in my bag I should increase my chances of retaining it by wearing a headscarf? (Please note that, hypothetically, I’ve carried pepper spray onto flights before. Maybe. Possibly. Accidentally.)
Now TOTW, you “know” you can’t profile… why associating a muslim with box knives, and a practice bomb will get you fired and/or sued…. Better to pick on little ol’ ladies, or WASP males…. sigh…
Sigivald, your position would be almost convincing except for this story,
Did They Go To Far?
She had checks, not cash. The TSA notified the local PD, not ICE. They searched beyond any reasonable definition of a security threat might be.
Oh, and this story ,a href=”http://www.popehat.com/2009/11/12/embarrassing-setback-for-tsa-victory-for-fourth-amendment-gold-standard/”>Embarrassing Setback for TSA; Victory For Fourth Amendment, Gold Standard
He worked for Ron Paul and had $4,700.00 in cash, well below the $10,000.00 limit you’re talking about.
Apparently the wide net cast by the geniuses at TSA doesn’t include middle eastern looking men acting suspiciously. It does however extend to white women traveling domestically who dare to carry checks!
And you say it’s a non issue?