Thursday, June 30, 2005

Security Where Art Thou?

OK, we need to admit it. We're totally vulnerable. There are Iraqis and others at our porous borders, we have surveillance equipment that doesn't work, there are illegal foreigners whose whereabouts and movements are unknown and criminals can access our most secured facilities seemingly with no planning. Why am I forced to remove my shoes and be wanded and x-rayed at the airport when a thief in a pickup can drive out on the tarmac with impunity?
Is this the way to conduct a war? How many warnings can providence provide before we take heed and avoid catastrophe?
Those who have taken the responsibility for shoring up our defenses need to be held accountable. No one seems to lose their job for failing to do their job. Who is watching the store?

The driver of a suspected stolen truck led police on a chase on the tarmac of a major US airport, weaving dramatically between moving planes after breaching airfield security
The bizarre intrusion at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix in the southwestern state of Arizona ended after the vehicle crashed through two chain link perimeter fences before grinding to a halt, allowing police to arrest the driver at gunpoint.
Airport spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said that traffic at the busy hub was interrupted only briefly as police cars pursued the runaway motorist as he races alongside at least two moving passenger jets.
"There could have been a problem but we're so delighted that there was none. Airport operations were temporarily suspended in the area where he was," Ostreicher told CNN.
It was unclear how the driver managed to breach the security perimeter at the airport, which are amongst the most protected strategic sites in the United States following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

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