TSA

by Naomi Wolf Huffington Post November 4, 2007 I have argued that in the closing stages of a 'fascist shift', events cascade. I am hearing about them, even across the globe. Here in Australia I hear from...

U.S. officials have long retaliated against employees who speak out, burying the dangers they expose. Now, Congress wants to give whistle-blowers greater protection -- but President Bush vows to stop it. By James Sandler Nov. 01,...

Foley makes a concise argument, in his OpEd at Jurist on 9/11/07, that it's not too late for a new investigation, one that assesses individuals' responsibility, not just "failed policy." It's quite clear that this nation is no more secure now than we were on 9/11, even after handing this administration unchecked powers and endless sums of money. This week, a TSA study found "Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and bomb parts that Transportation Security Administration testers hid under their clothes or in carry-on bags at checkpoints... At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, screeners missed about 60% of hidden bomb materials that were packed in everyday carry-ons."

As Benjamin DeMott stated in his Harper's review of the 9/11 Commission Report ,

The 9/11 Commission Report, despite the vast quantity of labor behind it, is a cheat and a fraud. It stands as a series of evasive maneuvers that infantilize the audience, transform candor into iniquity, and conceal realities that demand immediate inspection and confrontation. Because it is continuously engaged in scotching all attempts to distinguish better from worse leadership responses, the Commission can't discharge its duty to educate the audience about the habits of mind and temperament essential in those chosen to discharge command responsibility during crises. It can't tell the truth about what was done and not done, thought and not thought, at crucial turning points. ... In the course of blaming everybody a little, the Commission blames nobody—blurs the reasons for the actions and hesitations of successive administrations, masks choices that, fearlessly defined, might actually have vitalized our public political discourse.

We at 911truth.org don't believe for a moment that the tragic series of events on 9/11 were strictly a "massive security failure." As Mindy Kleinberg, widow of 9/11 victim Alan Kleinberg, stated in her testimony at the first public hearing held by the 9/11 Commission:

With regard to the 9/11 attacks, it has been said that the intelligence agencies have to be right 100% of the time and the terrorists only have to get lucky once. This explanation for the devastating attacks of September 11th, simple on its face, is wrong in its value. Because the 9/11 terrorists were not just lucky once: they were lucky over and over again.

Nonetheless, as Foley makes clear below, without an investigation with the power to actually determine and assess culpability of responsible parties, the very idea that "increased security and revoked civil liberties are justified in the post-9/11 world" is untenable.

"The lesson of 9/11 for civilians and first responders can be stated simply: in the new age of terror, they--we--are the primary targets. ... A rededication to preparedness is perhaps the best way to honor the memories of those we lost that day." Page 323, "9/11 Commission Report"

And how are we doing at preparedness? Not very well, according to a recent TSA testing report, that showed screeners missed fake bombs 60%-75% of the time at LAX and O'Hare. A 2001 report by the GAO found that screeners in the 1970's found all but 13% of objects during compliance tests, performing significantly better than those working for the TSA now. And this does not address the fact that we still do not inspect the cargo loaded on passenger planes or coming into the country through our ports. If we were serious about honestly enhancing security, we would be doing more to protect our chemical and nuclear plants, railways, and refineries, instead of tapping Americans' phones and feeling up airline travelers in political t-shirts.

By Sander Hicks In defense of the "9/11 truth movement." Editor's note: The role of the alternative press is to offer perspectives that the commercial media won't touch. Having run a number of articles...