"US Rep: Fedl Agency Falling Short On Airline Screening"

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

US Rep: Fedl Agency Falling Short On Airline Screening
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP)--U.S. Representative Don Young, R-Alaska, said he regrets
setting up the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency
with the task of screening airline passengers.

"If I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't have passed the TSA bill,
because they didn't do as I thought they would do," Young told the Fairbanks
Daily News-Miner and other Alaska media. "All they did was put a new shirt
on a bunch of people and went back to the old technology.

"I always thought we could use technology to take and find out who the bad
guys were and who was flying. I think that's crucial and it can be done."

Young is chairman of the House Transportation Committee. In that role he has
introduced or pushed a number of the security measures adopted by Congress
after the East Coast terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The nation, Young said, is safer but not safe. Total safety is a dangerous
goal, he said, so while he sees some areas for progress, he doesn't want to
smother liberty and the country's economy.

"We have to recognize if there is a dedicated terrorist that wishes to cause
harm, they can still do it and there is no way you can ever prevent it," he
said. "Just because you hear thunder and lightning you can't put your head
under the blanket and expect the chores to get done."

Most parts of the world have dealt with terrorism for a long time, he said,
so Americans may have to adjust their thinking about it.

With the creation of the Transportation Security Agency, Young said, air
travel has become safer in some respects.

"It's secure from the nuts. It's not secure from the terrorists," he said.
"You can't make it fail-safe."

The danger today isn't so much hijacking, he said.

"If they arm my pilots like I say, I doubt if there'd be any chance of a
hijacking. I think that's one of the first positive steps we've really
taken," he said.

However, he's not happy with the pace of the armed-pilot program. The TSA
has slowed the process, he said. He's also unhappy with the slow pace of
technological advances at airport check-in sites.

Good progress has been made in securing railroads and ports, he said, though
more focus now needs to be placed on overseas ports and unregistered ships.

"Security has to come from the port which is shipping the product before it
gets on the ship," Young said, "because once it gets in the port, then
you've got a problem. You're never going to be able to stop it or identify
it."

He said the U.S. should assist other countries in developing their check
systems and tracking ships by satellite.

Young said he also is disappointed in the performance of the new Department
of Homeland Security.

"It was never going to be easy because it put too many people under one
hatch that don't like one another. Immigration is still not working with
Customs. I could go on down the line. That part hurts," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, he tries to keep it all in perspective.

"My deep concern is that everybody says we've got to be totally secure. Ah,
be very careful, because that means you give up the liberties and the
freedoms in the Constitution that we hold dear," he said.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************