DELAWARE VOICE

Make sense of airport security


by HOWARD M. BERLIN

3/9/2008

In September 2006, Ryan Bird was detained for 25 minutes by officers at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport because had a note inside his clear bag containing carry-on liquids to be scanned. The note said, "Kip Hawley is an idiot." It was Bird's way of protesting TSA's unreasonable rules, while larger threats largely go ignored.

Transportation Security Administration Director Kip Hawley has the longest tenure of anyone in the Homeland Security arm of federal government. For as long as Hawley has been ensconced in his job, you've got to wonder if he ever looks at what the rest of the world does at airports.

For instance, if you've flown since 9/11, you know that when boarding a plane in the United States, any carry-on containers of liquids, gels, lotions or creams (with certain exceptions) cannot be larger than 3 ounces. But if you fly from Europe, you have a 100-milliliter limit, which is equivalent to about 3.4 ounces -- 13 percent more. A 3-ounce container is not a regular size in Europe or the rest of the world; 100 ml. is.

I have never actually seen a TSA screener closely exam or measure a container to see whether it was the 100 ml. or the 3-ounce size.

So why can't Hawley declare that everyone can have a 100-ml. limit per container for liquids? We can use our 3-ounce bottles and the rest of the world can use their 100-ml. bottles. If this is OK in Europe, why isn't it OK for Americans?

TSA policies are not being applied consistently or even correctly at airports throughout the country. When some travelers complained to a TSA supervisor about unfair treatment or inappropriate touching, their names eventually wound up on the dreaded "do not fly list." Once on, it's almost impossible to get a name removed from the list. It's no wonder the TSA enjoys a reputation that parallels the Internal Revenue Service.

Here's another example. I just completed a series of trips to England, Italy, Germany and Israel. At London's Heathrow Airport, the world's second-busiest in terms of passengers, you don't have to remove your laptop computer from carry-on baggage. Men don't have to remove their belts. You still have to remove your shoes, coat, hat (except religious headwear), and have liquids in a clear bag.

At the Berlin, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt airports in Germany, you can keep your shoes on as you pass through the metal detector. But you have to take off your coat and belt, and remove your laptop and carry-on liquids.

At Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport -- where security measures are perhaps the tightest in the world -- you do not have to remove your laptop computer. And get this -- you also don't have to remove liquids or your shoes. You do have to remove your coat and the usual loose change, keys, etc.

So, what has Israeli security got, or what do they know that we don't? I'm not sure, but Israeli security agencies could care less about groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. They are equal-opportunity profilers. They profile everyone -- Hasidic Jews, secular Israelis, American Jews, tourists, and especially anyone who looks Muslim.

The screeners are generally polite while asking questions of everyone, all the while observing the traveler's mannerisms, eye contact and responses to their questions. In Israel, "profiling" is not a dirty word. Unfortunately for Israelis, they can't afford to make mistakes. They have to be 100 percent accurate all the time.

So far, their system seems to be working. Many U.S. law enforcement agencies have sent personnel to Israel for training -- but it is not called "profiling."

Sometimes you wonder if Hawley and high-ranking members of our government who generally do not fly aboard commercial aircraft are allowed to circumvent the security checkpoints that the rest of us have to put up with -- the long lines and the indecency of nearly disrobing in front of strangers.

I realize a lot of nasty terrorists are trying to figure out the weak points at airports. I'm not naïve. I know we need security screening. But it doesn't take a genius to realize that all a terrorist needs to do is fly a private plane with no flight plan to get around airport screening.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has finally decided to review the whole system of airport screening "to ease the burden." What took them so long to get off their collective butts and review some of these stupid procedures that have been in place far too long?

Howard M. Berlin lives in Wilmington.