Airport Security and TerrorismEssay Preview: Airport Security and TerrorismReport this essayAirport Security and TerrorismThe morning of September 11 was like any other. The sun rose from the east, and the day was full of life. People went to work as they were accustomed to, and everybody seemed safe from harms way. In airports across America: planes were taking their passengers to their destinations in record times. People went through airport security as usual, walking through the metal detector and sending their bags through the x-ray machines. Security at the airport was normal. Bags were checked for guns and explosives as they had been doing for many years. This seemingly routine day turned out to be far from normal. A group of Terrorists from the Al-Qaeda organization hijacked 4 commercial airliners and used them as guided missiles to attack the symbolic structures of this country. The attacks planned so well, The United States Government and its citizens didnt know what hit them until the ashes cleared. The World Trade Center buildings crumbled to the ground just minutes after being hit by airplanes, the center of The United States Security and Defense, The Pentagon, hit by an airplane to take hundreds of lives and demolish a whole side of the massive building. Another plane brought down by the passengers in Pennsylvania taking the lives of those on board, but saving the thousands of lives on the ground. These terrorist attacks called for a reform of the nations aviation security system. While it is important and necessary to heighten security after the attacks, the policies of profiling passengers are inadequate and necessary for revision. Since the attacks passengers have had to put up with delays, personal searches, and increased security procedures.
Thirty years ago no one would have ever thought that commercial airliners would be used as missiles and purposely be run in to sky scrapers. Airport Security back then wasnt an issue. Flying was just a ordinary thing people did to save time and the anxiety of driving and to reach there destination safely and promptly. Now going to the airport is something that many Americans have second thoughts about. Not only about the safety issues and the fear of getting hijacked, but the time consuming and irritating new security measures the United States and the Bush Administration have brought forth and enforced at the not only this nations Airports, but Airports all across the world. Now questions are being asked Is Security too much at airports? Is there still not enough Security? Do the new regulations discriminate against certain ethnicities? The attacks on September 11 should have never happened and I think its a little to late to be heightening up security at airports, the damage has been done, and even with the new security measures, terrorists will find a way to hijack planes. The new security measures only cause travelers more troubles. It increases the cost of flying and time it consumes is outrageous.
The idea of terrorists attacking commercial aviation has been around since 1947. Attacks were quite rare before 1967, but steadily rose in the decades following. Attacks on commercial aviation can be carried out by a few different ways, aircraft hijacking, which is the most common, but also attacks on airports themselves, and in some rare cases, airline offices. From the time frame of 1947 to 1996 there were 1098 attacks on airliners (both hijacking and attempts to shoot them down), compared with 129 attacks on airports, and 249 attacks on airline offices (Wilkinson and Jenkins). In this 50 year span a total of 2,752 have died in attacks perpetrated by terrorist. This shows that the idea of terrorists attacking by air has been executed many times, and yet America still hasnt completely eradicated the problem, and compared to the 2,752 deaths in a 50 year span, the September 11 attacks claimed the lives of somewhere near 4,000.
Going to the airport prior to September 11 seemed just like any other ordinary day. You had to arrive no more then an hour and half prior to your flight. You went and checked your bags and got your boarding pass. Going through security was a breeze. You put your bags on the conveyor belt and walk through a metal detector. Now it seems like its and interrogation center and to some may seem the new procedures to be unconstitutional.
Many argue that screening of passengers is offensive as innocent travelers are treated as if they are criminals without any kind of reasonable suspicion, basically meaning that any passenger wishing to aboard an airplane is susceptible to their baggage or themselves to be searched. While the Fourth Amendment in the Constitution prohibits the Government from engaging in any unreasonable searches. Yet, many people, especially those of middle eastern decent, are screened intrusively. The screening of passengers has become a burden, sometimes taking up to an hour just waiting in line. Also the cost of screeners and new screening machines is very expensive and has increased the price to fly dramatically. There also were instances when passengers were sometimes violated by offensive touching, for example groping, and included removal of clothing to more intrusive searching. Investigative journalists have shown that one can still get through security checks with weapons. Keep in mind that attacks dont only occur by air. If getting through airport security is too difficult for terrorists, then they will just find another way to attack. Driving a fuel tanker to a specific building, shooting a plane down, using a small airplane to disperse biological chemicals, there are many ways they could cause destruction and loss of life. The amount of money that has been spent on airport security since September 11 is unrealistic. The money needs to be dispersed evenly and prevent the other alternative ways for terrorists to attack.
The September 11th attacks highlighted much more than Americas vulnerability; they highlighted the federal governments limitations in protecting the homeland from unconventional attacks. At the time of the attacks, no single federal agency was responsible for protecting the homeland. Instead, homeland security was a secondary mission to over 100 agencies and programs that operated in a confusing, bureaucratic matrix. These agencies and programs often did not share information or work with each other readily. After the attacks the president implemented a new national strategy setting aside 40 billion for emergency relief to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. In 2004 the Department of Homeland Security resources grew almost 60% since September 11. About $500 million to assess the nations critical infrastructure (e.g., nuclear power plants, water facilities, telecommunications networks, and transportation systems) and to work to
enact some existing and new threats to the global power structure, including the threat of terrorism and other disruptive forces.
President Obama will use his “no more terrorism” speech to announce that the American people must have a stake in defeating terrorism, and not only that it’s a public responsibility but also to ensure that the nation’s public safety has a strong political voice. I hope he will provide a strong commitment by his administration to our right to live free and independent lives and a strong commitment by Congress, particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11 and 11/11 in 2001, that a renewed and sustained effort will be made to keep us safe and secure from serious human rights abuses. ————————————————————————— \1\ http://www.pni.gov/hq/cfs/www/media.html:m.j.schwartz.id=724#sho95860. ————————————————————————— The president said in a “very short time” that America stands in close contact with more than 6 billion others, including “alarmed persons, individuals who are not of the sort of intelligence we need to prevent terrorist attacks. If our leaders are afraid we will make the same threat again, and they are, they can make real choices in how to deal with us.””President Obama has indicated that he believes the nation is ready for a renewed threat from foreign nations. This will ensure that, as new threats and new opportunities arise, American security is more secure and our political institutions stronger and the security mechanisms have gotten more complex. His vision of a new era has been proven in the most recent presidential election, where a far smaller number of Americans voted to make an independent choice on who best represents them.””President Obama’s plan to combat radical Islamic terrorism that seeks to destroy the United States of America and restore and defend itself from these threats is not the way forward and is frankly unacceptable in today’s world that has not responded in much of the world since 9/11. Despite our strong national security standing, terrorist attacks have targeted the United States and other member nations of the international community with violence and torture. This violence and torture often include unlawful searches or seizures of communications facilities, use of secret military interrogations, and the continued practice of torture, as well as the continuing use of torture, summary execution, and the killing of those who have threatened to harm American national security or those who have received military punishments. In addition, some of the many abuses were caused by the actions of the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban which have been blamed for more than a dozen of these abuses at our country’s expense. These groups often use death squads, mass executions, torture, rendition, and rape to coerce people into joining them. ————————————————————————— \2\ http://www.pni.gov/hq/cfs/www/media.html:m.j.schwartz.id=724#sho96876. ————————————————————————— To prevent any attacks and prevent any further terrorism, President Obama has announced and ordered the following: (1) To initiate some major strategic initiatives to address the concerns of foreign governments about terrorist threats; and (2) Strengthen coordination initiatives among U.S. intelligence communities. This will be done by a number of activities to coordinate, inform and train officials from several government and non-governmental organizations and international experts to identify and work alongside them on these initiatives. ————————————————————————— ————————————————————————— The president also made these commitments: (1) To assist in conducting international support for the Department of Homeland Security; to implement the national security initiatives under this Act; and to establish and implement training and training programs to reduce and mitigate radicalization by foreign nationals in the United States and to assist other states affected from abroad by the actions of the United States and its allies against Radical Islamic terrorism and the acts which may increase the risk to national security in the United States. ————————————————————————— We are committed in our partnership with foreign governments to address radicalization. We work