The Atlantic v. TSA--And TSA's New Screening Policy

My colleagues at The Atlantic are, um, pretty hard on the Transportation Security Administration. And that's putting it mildly. So I was interested to read Marc Ambinder on why he thinks TSA's new use of intelligence-generated threat data to filter passengers for additional screening is smart. And I think he had a very good summary of the challenges and opportunities TSA faces in getting compliance with its security standards:

The government reserves the right to expand and contract and refine the filter on a daily basis. As trust is critical to security, trust remains the biggest potential area of weakness: enforcement is largely up to entities that the U.S. does not control, including foreign governments and airline carriers owned by private citizens. The U.S. government has ways of covertly monitoring compliance, and there are many more TSA representatives oversees now than ever before. But it is, of course, in the interest of every country who does business with the U.S. and every airline who wants to fly to the U.S. to establish protocols. The Israeli airline, El Al, uses a similar threat matrix to screen its passengers, but it also has the luxury of being able to strictly monitor how its employees (and Israeli government agents) do their jobs.

Shades of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who said pretty much the same thing in announcing the expanded use of the security filter today:

These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats. The terrorist threat to global aviation is a shared challenge and ensuring aviation security is a shared responsibility. I commend our many partners around the world who have taken steps to increase their own security measures through deployment of new technology, enhanced information sharing and stronger standards to keep air travel safe.

My sympathy for TSA has always come from the perspective that it's a new agency, and its policies are not always of its own making: they end up responding to political pressure and politicized fears. That said, the new, intel-baesd policy is smart, and the kind of thing the agency should be very careful to implement flawlessly, not just because it's right, but because being right will help its image.