Security screeners at 21 U.S. airports failed to find bomb-making materials during recent government tests, according to a new Government Accountability Office
report.
Federal agents carrying materials that could be used to make bombs escaped detection in airport screening during tests conducted between October and January.
"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. For security reasons, the names of the airports involved in the report will not be released.
Congress requested the investigation from the non-partisan GAO -- the watchdog arm of Congress -- to determine the vulnerability of U.S. airlines to a suicide bomber using cheap and easy-to-obtain materials.
The Transportation Security Administration had no comment on the report but said in a statement that detecting explosive materials and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) at the checkpoint was the agency's top priority. Of course, making something a priority and actually accomplishing a goal are two different things.
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The findings of the report indicate that even three years after its creation, the TSA remains ineffective.
The TSA has been previously been
criticized by the GAO for failing to meet a series of deadlines, for such things as creating a plan to deploy bomb-detection machines at airports. TSA has also been in the middle of
turf wars with other Homeland Security agencies, leading to delays on such things as developing anti-tampering technology for shipping containers and deciding which databases to use to track foreigners and cargo entering the country.
The TSA claims it has a
lack of man-power, and a
lack of training. And it faces
too many deadlines. Others say it has been
underfunded.
All the excuses in the world won't mean much if the GAO test results are duplicated by terrorists. Homeland Security, itself a frequent target of criticism for ineptitude, should get its act together before it's too late. To steal a
quote from Condoleeza Rice, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
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This item first appeared at
JABBS.