True North

Came across an article that may as well been written by Department of Homeland Security Chief Michael “Lettucehead” Chertoff, when you consider how much of a fluff piece it was. Basically you have 26 paragraphs of all the new procedures and checks they are putting into ports, airports, embassies, checkpoints, etc. Everything from biometric data before an international flight leaves the ground, to scanning shipping containers, to radiation detection.

Now don’t get me wrong. All of these things are necessary and a good step forward. But for all its cheerleading the rather obvious flaw is unmentioned. Our backdoor is wide open and free to anyone that wants to exploit it.

Why carry a radioactive bomb on a plane and go jump through all sorts of hoops to try to get it into the country, when you could pay a coyote a couple thousand and have him bring you in where there are virtually no obstacles preventing your entry?? As much as critics like to say border security advocates are racists, they have to admit that right now both of our borders are a national security loophole just waiting to be exploited.

I keep thinking back to a situation I found myself in shortly after 9/11, and thanks to changes FINALLY in place, I don’t believe I’m endangering anyone by talking about it.

Years ago, before we were moved to another undisclosed location, I used to work at the base of the MSP airport control tower. It was truly an awesome office location. Every day, I parked next to a F-14…although I think it was being used for spare parts as it never moved. Every day, C-130s, 747s, 737s, the occasional C-5, Air Force One, etc rolled by my office window, not 100 yards away. In the winter, they de-iced the planes right outside the air intake vents for our heating system. More than once I drove home realizing I had been high all day long from jet fumes and whatever is in that de-icing fluid. I’m certain I’ll have lung cancer by the age of 40…and I don’t smoke.

My point is that every day, I simply drove up to my building, parked, got out and walked in. If I wanted I could drive within 10 feet of the actual control tower. After 9/11, airport security went nuts. You couldn’t get on a plane without major inconvenience. Yet every day, I could drive up to the control tower without anyone asking any questions.

While TSA was worried about passengers bringing items onto a plane, every day I could drive my SUV up to the base of the control tower without question. Imagine how much explosives could be put in there?? While a terrorist could take out one plane, an enterprising and creative terrorist could put hundreds of planes in jeopardy.

Of course my co-workers and I mentioned it several times to those that were in charge, but it was quite awhile before anything changed. Fortunately now it has. While it might still be possible to do the same thing, you couldn’t do it unquestioned and certainly not without bashing your way through some barriers.

Today I see the Homeland Security Department effectively doing the same thing on a grander scale. While we have our front doors locked tight, the borders are wide open. Just asking for someone to drive up and blow up something important….like say, Dallas, Or Chicago, Or LA, or New York. It took years for a simple airport, I wonder how long it will take them to put up the protection for the country??? I’m afraid to know the answer.

[Kevin Ecker's syndicated columns can be read world wide at EckerNet.Com and you may leave scathing comments on this post here.]