President Barack Obama spoke in support of the new controversial screening measures on Saturday, saying that the pat-downs and body scans are necessary to assure airline safety. Obama stood by the measures because of events such as when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb hidden in his underwear last Christmas. The tightened security has caused an uproar amongst people traveling for the holidays. "At this point, the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with our counter-terrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the Christmas Day bombing," said the President. According to a statement from the federal agency, TSA officers can use "professional discretion" to determine when an individual should be subject to further screening. The fact that individuals are becoming angry because of a policy that makes traveling safer seems foolish.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/20/obama.tsa/index.html
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The airline industry is private. This brings into the question how much control we should allow the government to have over such an industry. After what happened on September 11 many feel that these steps are necessary and do not mind the invasion. On the other hand many feel the policies in place are in violation of their privacy. These scanners also are called into question over the amount of radiation they use. Personal health vs. safety. Government needs to make new policies based on the new ways our transportation and technology works. -Kayla Carson
ReplyDeleteI agree that the airline industry is private. However, the responsibility of screening individual travelers for potential threats is not. TSA is responsible for screening individuals at the security checkpoints. TSA is a government agency and it is NOT owned by ANY airline company. TSA ensures the safety of all travelers and does its best job to prevent any misfortunes from happening. Government has the legitimate ownership of responsibility of protecting the safety of its citizens. Therefore, it has all the rights to screen any air traveler just so that accidents can be prevented. As a frequent air traveler myself, I am totally fine with this new way of screening. If you don't like the new idea, then don't fly. Drive.
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