August 17, 2006

Security Theater    [ News ]

The Crypto-Gram: August 15, 2006 edition tells the truth about the recent airline security issues - it's all security theater:

None of the airplane security measures implemented because of 9/11 -- no-fly lists, secondary screening, prohibitions against pocket knives and corkscrews -- had anything to do with last week's arrests. And they wouldn't have prevented the planned attacks, had the terrorists not been arrested. A national ID card wouldn't have made a difference, either.

Instead, the arrests are a victory for old-fashioned intelligence and investigation. Details are still secret, but police in at least two countries were watching the terrorists for a long time. They followed leads, figured out who was talking to whom, and slowly pieced together both the network and the plot.

Thanks Bruce. Someone needs to say this, and say it repeatedly, and hold governments and security bureaucrats to the fire for these sorts of knee-jerk responses.

I'll take half a dozen well-trained policemen and women over $10 million dollars worth of high-tech security contracts anyday.

Posted by edobbs at 08:24 AM