During the end of 2010, there were an overwhelming number of stories about whole-body scanners and airport pat-downs. More than simply dealing with negative news stories, the Department of Homeland Security found itself dealing with a possible traveler insurrection before Thanksgiving day.
There is more to our security than only operations at airports. It is going on every day in thousands of police stations, on the beat and during patrols through city streets. This video is a first look at the security industrial complex that has grown in the name of protecting us.
This video is almost 15 minutes long.
I have included this program from Frontline because I feel it is important that Americans be aware of the surveillance society that has been created through a web of Fusion Centers, close-circuit TVs, license plate readers and suspicious action reports.
During Thanksgiving, the public backed down. However, make no mistake about it, they do not like having the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers reaching into their pants and feeling up their legs and groins. This negative reaction to the current TSA screenings process will only get worse as more and more passengers experience the enhance pat-down.
Even with all of this surveillance and airport security, it is observant citizens that have prevented the most recent terrorist efforts. High-tech security has had nothing to do with these apprehensions. The high-tech systems have only been used to retrace the terrorist’s steps rather than stop their actions.
Ned Levi writing in ConsumerTraveler.com has already asked the question about Who makes air travel safer, TSA or passengers?
Unseen by most Americans, is the massive surveillance systems that are now being linked across the country as part of the counter-terrorism efforts keeping us secure? The extent of these systems is breathtaking.
Two and a half years ago, I wrote about TSA and Homeland Security beginning to step over the line. If anything, personal privacy has suffered even further.
These surveillance systems are the part of the security apparatus that should make walking through the airport painless, but obviously that hasn’t been happening. The right to travel and the right to privacy have seldom come into such conflict. What are your thoughts?
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
