We're from the government, and we're here to grope you...

[R.A. Hettinga]

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USNews.com

Home Issues 11/29/04
Nation & World
 An Intrusive new search

 Thanksgiving travelers may be in for a bit of a shock as they plod through
security lines at the nation's airports. Passengers chosen for secondary
screening or whose clothing appears suspicious or bulky are now subject to
frisking--in a pretty intrusive way. In late September, the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) began allowing security checkpoint screeners
to manually pat down women's breasts and the genital and derriere regions
of both sexes during searches. The point is to find hidden explosives while
machines that might perform the job are still being tested. "I know it's
not pleasant," says Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House aviation
subcommittee, "but until we get the technology, what are the options?"
   The air marshals hasn't exactly taken off

The new policy reflects an increasing sense of urgency about the lack of
explosives-detection equipment. Today, only a small percentage of carry-on
luggage and passengers is tested for bombs. In its final report, the 9/11
commission said the TSA must give "priority attention" to checking
passengers for explosives. In August, two Russian airliners crashed, almost
certainly because of explosives two Chechen women had concealed beneath
their clothing--underscoring the danger.

Complaints. The TSA policy says that passengers can request that the new
screening be done in a private room and requires that the frisker be the
same gender as the traveler. But graduate student Sommer Gentry, 27, says
that male screeners at Boston's Logan International Airport tried to pat
her down while a female screener at Baltimore-Washington International
Airport roughly jabbed a metal-detector wand between her legs. "How can I
feel safe," Gentry said, " when the TSA is ordering me to let strangers put
their hands all over my most intimate places?" TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield
says the new policy generates only about a dozen complaints a week, but
there have been reports of passengers, mostly women, growing angry during
searches.

The TSA is currently testing machines that could eliminate the need for
such frisking, like "trace portals" that blow puffs of air at passengers to
dislodge and sniff for bits of explosive material. But it will be a while
before the machines are ready for widespread use. In the meantime, the TSA
will continue the pat-downs and train screeners to explain the process more
carefully. "These are very valid security measures," says Hatfield. "They
get at a very specific potential threat." But that's not enough for Gentry.
"I am now," she says, "an ex-frequent flier." -Samantha Levine

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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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