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http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/08/11/ai ... index.html

excerpt:

"Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.

"It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior," Ron said."

Now if only the authorities in the US would catch on... because searching for suspicious people rather than potential weapons applies to more than just terrorism.

Paladin wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/08/11/ai ... index.html

excerpt:

"Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.

"It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior," Ron said."

Now if only the authorities in the US would catch on... because searching for suspicious people rather than potential weapons applies to more than just terrorism.

You just gotta love the Israelies. That is very good advice. On the other hand I get this mental picture of the security people at the airport whenI go there. I don't think so..... :)

That would be a great idea, but after hearing horror stories that the news will NEVER broadcast concerning airport security @ DFW, I have marginal faith in the TSA - despite my parents both working their tails off there.

There are many wonderful, dedicated invidiuals who sacrifice their time for what I consider marginal pay for the TSA and government in general. Many are working there AFTER retiring from a full career elsewhere in LE or military service. I tip my hats humbly to these individuals as they strive to ensure my safety and that of my family - with little appreciation and A LOT of grief from egocentric and self-consumed individuals who have no appreciation of the big picture.

Then there are the slackjawed condition white individuals who are there to slide through each day looking forward to the drive home. It will only take one incident of a chain of events where enough of those folks will have to encounter the same individual and their bags, where they will make it on to the plane and crash it into a *insert high value target here*.



Hate to be a pessimist, but thats the viewpoint of an quasi-insider.

I've been screened by TSA agents that were hardly even adults. If I was being screened by Isreali soldiers or ElAl airlines security, I'd feel a lot safer.
Of course, being the PC society that we are, saying someone looks suspicious is discrimination, stereotyping, etc.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

The Israelies also do profiling to keep their airport security tight... that's something that would send the ACLU and a slew of other people over the moon if it were done over here. But when you think about it... I haven't seen any 80-year old grandmothers hijacking planes, but I HAVE seen them being detail-searched at the airport!

You beat me to it HV. Oh well! It's TRUE!!

If was not serious it would be funny. Good points both of you.

FYI - Profiling does occur at airports by multiple agencies.

Best we can do for the current situation over there is to send more ammo..

Profiling has always been the best Crime Fighting tool. If you see two men leaving a known Meth house. . . then guess what you have? A van parked in the alley behind Radio Shack with three men slumped down in the seat. . . guess what you have? It is not Rocket Science. Just my opinion.

I believe that there is profiling taking place. But I know that no one can admit to it without ending up on CNN.

There's degrees of profiling.

For example:
"This guy's nervous. he's sweating. he's middle eastern, and he's pacing back and fourth and muttering to himself. He keeps readjusting a suspicious buldge in his clothes, I think i'm going to go talk to him"

Then, there's:
"I'm only going to search young middle-eastern looking men because most of those are terrorists!"

The first type of profiling, I don't think anyone, even the ACLU has any problems with. That type of profiling is a good idea.

The 2nd type is a bad idea for obvious reasons. the ACLU would hate that, as well as any red-blooded American.

Profiling SHOULD be taking behavior, situations, etc, into account, as well as ethnicity. In my first example, if a clear cut white guy in a business suit was acting that way, I'd hope TSA would talk to him as well!

HighVelocity wrote:I've been screened by TSA agents that were hardly even adults. If I was being screened by Isreali soldiers or ElAl airlines security, I'd feel a lot safer.
Of course, being the PC society that we are, saying someone looks suspicious is discrimination, stereotyping, etc.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

I was a TSA screener for three years, as a former top level troubleshooter in the telecom arena - with national credentials, it was quite a comedown. TSA's major difficulty was that they hired so many people so fast, and although we all passed the initial screening, not all eventually proved to be eligible for continued employment. And TSA wasn't about to show any weakness by admitting that they might have made a mistake or two, and that a para-military organization needs to run like a military organization.

Anyway, I'll tell you this much, despite poor training (or complete lack in some cases) some of those apparantly teenage screeners have the best records of finds and many are the sharpest tacks in the box. Not quite as sharp as the myriads of ex-engineers, but pretty sharp. It was a surprise to an ageist old curmudgeon like me, it really broke down some of my beliefs in terms of; age begets experience, which begets excellence.

OTOH, I would have welcomed profiling, or even "reverse profiling" (as in "frequent traveler" cards that allow one to scoot through screening after a "suitable" background check (and one of the reasons that that hasn't been implemented even after it has been touted is because there are those who claim it is "reverse profiling." Profiling would cut down the screening work load and allow TSA screeners to focus on the important stuff.

[/rant off]

Hey, let's go back and count how many little old ladies in wheelchairs have bombed buildings, or have hijacked planes and ships, or . . . Well, you probably get the point.

The saddest thing I ever saw was when an elderly woman had to go through the metal detector with her walker.

They actually made her pass through three times before it dawned on them that her walker was metal.

Then they assisted her through while they tried to figure out how to check the tubing on the walker for any dangerous materials inside.

Her daughter was in tears outside the checkpoint, and she was in tears beyond it.