Airport Security and Terrorism

Airport Security and Terrorism

The 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 didn't 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 wasn't 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 it's 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 hasn't 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 don't 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 America's vulnerability; they highlighted the federal government's 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 nation's critical infrastructure (e.g., nuclear power plants, water facilities, telecommunications networks, and transportation systems) and to work to