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Do you know the enemy?

Do you know your enemy?

Well, gotta know the enemy

 (Armstrong/Dirnt/Wright)

The TSA has responded with a vengeance after the attempting bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day - but against whom?

In the aftermath of the attempted terror bombing on that international flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, two bloggers were subpoenaed and questioned by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to find the name of their source for the leaked airline security directive both published online.  Blogger Steve Frischling had his laptop confiscated and claims he was threatened by two TSA special agents with retaliation via interference with his contract to blog for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines if he refused to cooperate.  Travel writer Chris Elliott wrote on his blog about how much his children and cats liked the polite agent who said "Sir, you've been served" while bluntly demanding the name of his source.

Executive Director Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (a group which supports Elliott) said she couldn't remember "the last time an administrative subpoena had been served on a reporter in the last decade."        

Granted, these two bloggers are not exactly Woodward and Bernstein.  In fact, the story was over almost as fast as it came.  According to an AP article written by Larry Margasak, a TSA spokesman said "the investigation is nearing a successful conclusion and the subpoenas are no longer in effect" after the two men were apparently intimidated into submission.  The article did not say the TSA identified the source of the leak, probably because they haven't apprehended or even identified the culprit. 

The leaked TSA information jarred some recent memories.  Remembering the complete TSA operations manual for procedures at airport security checkpoints was published on the Internet back in December of 2009, while refreshing my memory I noticed the story seemed related to an earlier article from CNN (of all sources) written in July of 2008 that mentioned TSA leaks of sensitive information.  But now the terror threat has been recognized alert TSA screeners are diligently doing their job well, correct?

Or, maybe not.  Consider the case of three year old Josh Pitney, another casualty of the post Christmas TSA crackdown on terror threats.  Intrepid TSA agents in New Orleans confiscated his Christmas present from his grandmother consisting of several cans of Play-Doh.  Mother Christy was not upset initially, explaining to her son the action taken was standard TSA procedure, but then she learned Play-Doh isn't a banned substance prohibited from being taken onto airplanes and the call was an arbitrary one made by the individual screener involved in the incident.  A TSA spokeswoman was quoted to say "screeners are told to use their own discretion."  How about encouraging screeners to use a little common sense?

Now, the latest rage for security wonks is to demand deployment of full body scanners, called "virtual strip-searching" due to the graphic detail the machines provide, leading to a new mass outcry of concern from people worried about the unprecedented invasion of privacy the machines perform and abuse by the system.  Many of those with objections are afraid the machines will lead to unwarranted harassment by screeners who might be interested in scanning a higher percentage of attractive blonde females than justified relative to the potential threat they pose.  The effectiveness of these new machines will certainly be debatable, given the report Al Qaeda has already bought one and operatives practice beating the full body scan before it's been implemented in all the major U.S. and international airports.

So, the TSA has cracked down on passenger screening - what about an internal crackdown on their own employees?  An article posted at nbclosangeles.com reported an off duty TSA agent was arrested at LAX for behaving erratically.  He was quoted as saying "I am god, I am in charge," which apparently even caught the attention of agents still on duty.  An investigation by the internal affairs division of the TSA turned up evidence of illegal drug use at an after-hours party, leading LAX director of security Larry Fetters to issue a statement saying:

"TSA's internal affairs team discovered video evidence that potentially depicted a few members of our workforce consuming illegal drugs.  TSA management immediately identified those individuals, subjected them to reasonable suspicion drug testing and terminated the one who tested positive.  TSA practices a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drug use and conducts random drug and alcohol testing at over 450 airports across the country..." 

Yadda yadda yadda.  I guess we're supposed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, eh?  Just don't read the comments left by someone going by ADAMONC, who expressed the hope the individual fired was the same TSA screener who insisted a Marine wearing his dress blues and bearing his USMC identification disrobe in the airport as part of his "screening" process while two uniformed policemen watched.  The author of the comment claimed the TSA screener said "he can do anything he wants."

There might be some validity in the statement: the TSA guard who left his post allegedly to talk on his cell phone that resulted in a six hour shutdown of the Newark airport was put on administrative leave for his transgressions, but National Counterterrorism Center chief Michael Leiter will not face repercussions for his six day ski trip after the Christmas Day bomb attempt on Flight 253.  In fact, the White House claims Leiter deserved his vacation.  Perhaps if the plane had been destroyed, the White House would insist the taxpayers pay for Leiter's vacation for the fine job he's done.

It makes one wonder if the TSA is the modern day equivalent of the Keystone Cops.  The sheer number of employees eliminates the Three Stooges analogy.

The footage finally found showing the security breach in Newark was obtained from Continental Airlines because TSA cameras were running, but not recording, the area abandoned by the talkative TSA guard.  Are you kidding me? 

So who does fearless President Obama put forth to run this hapless group of incompetent bumblers who are the front line of our defense in the War on Terror?

Errol Southers, Obama's nominee to head the TSA has a questionable record (now there's a shocker!) and steadfastly refuses to state his position on collective bargaining for screeners.  In other words, Mr. Southers is playing politics at a time of heightened risks to national security.  His position on unionization prompted the boycott of his nomination by Senator Jim DeMint, which hopefully will inspire the President to reconsider and find a more qualified and capable candidate. 

That's just what we need in a war - TSA employees entrenched in a government bureaucracy in jobs protected by union thugs who could care less about a dues-paying member's competence actually doing their job.  If the TSA ever allows screeners to get unionized, God help us all.

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John Leonard can be reached at johnleonard@mindspring.com.  His first book, titled Hybrid Theory: Reconciling Creationism and Evolution Theory, is pending publication by epress-online.