Steve Elson, a former "Red Team" FAA Special Agent, is a genuine expert on the topic of aviation security. Elson went undercover to investigate many of the nation's airports and is one of several aviation security specialists donating considerable time and energy to aviation safety.
Three years post-9/11, the news is not all good. While some individuals in government and outside it are working diligently to protect and defend, the over-all security apparatus is as much façade as structure.
One problem, according to Elson and others, is the lack of accountability by now entrenched even in investigations of the plotting behind the attacks. His descriptions of the 9/11 Commission at work are representative:
· “27Jan04, some of us sat listening intently to the 9/11 Commission FINALLY grill the . . . FAA – Jane Garvey/Cathal Flynn; it validated in public what Bogdan and I have been saying and writing since the late 90’s. That is that the FAA created nothing but a façade of security; that Flynn/Garvey/DOT KNEW well of the many extant vulnerabilities AND threats; yet did NOTHING. The Commission did pretty well on this point. They barely scratched the surface and didn’t ask some of the more specific questions we submitted, but . . .
· “Next the United and American Senior Executives testified. Some interesting testimony. The Commission treated the Airlines with great deference. The commission then played the tape of AA-11 flight attendant talking with AA ground before the plane smashed into the WTC . . . The room was deadly quiet. The flight attendant’s family wept silently. I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the room. Mine certainly weren’t. Though sad, I was extremely angry because 9/11 was with almost 100% CERTAINTY preventable . . . EVEN if there had not been one bit of intelligence information or threat info. The vulnerabilities of the cockpit were there and they knew it . . .
· “No one has ever asked tough questions and demanded answers until the 9/11 Commission did so. NO ACCOUNTABILITY. Results: Two towers gone, hole in the Pentagon, Billions lost,
The failure to hold any individuals accountable has predicated failure for investigation and thus for correcting many past mistakes, according to Elson and others:
· “Until yesterday afternoon, I had faith in the Commission. Then I formed a sad picture of what the goal is. They were willing to beat flynn/garvey and let the truth about them come forth about people no longer in the picture. Nothing will happen except a little embarrassment and flynn will still get contracts, probably from FAA. The airlines will be treated delicately because they spent a lot of money buying their congressmen. That’s a matter of record. Above all, the Commission will protect and shore up incumbents. Many times I have written that management is devoted to: self-aggrandizement, profiteering, and above all, protecting management. We heard that at the hearing. The gov and the Commission circled the wagons . . . and wouldn’t ask and pursue one single question regarding the myriad, daily, and continuing failures of Loy’s TSA. Those failings include, but are not limited to: fraud, waste, abuse; repeated failures in the most basic elements of screening; failure to develop a systems approach; waste of billions of dollars; very questionable contract procedures; criminals in the screening and FSD ranks; hiring people who are not qualified and came over for money; lying in writing to the president of the United States; failure of Loy to use his most valuable asset, Bogdan Dzakovic; implementing more stupid and ineffective rules during condition orange; alienating ally countries; and the list goes on. ALL of this is documented.
· “The Commission has a charter to recommend actions to prevent future air terrorism attacks. If they are too damned political or corrupt to even ask a few simple questions regarding . . . massive and continuing failures, then the Commission is of virtually no use. The whole idea was ACCOUNTABILITY of those who failed in the past to ensure that there was no repeat in the future. . . the Commission is going to recommend leaving . . . TSA as they are, which is nothing more than FAA reconstituted. Consider two final points. Claudio Manno during his testimony, the former head of FAA intel, proved himself a failure pre 9/11; Why is he now loy’s head of TSA intel? mary carol turano, the failed Boston Logan FAA manager with no experience is now loy’s subject matter expert for all of TSA screener performance and training. These are good hints what TSA is about and the reasons for its failures.”
With the release of the 9/11 Commission’s final report, there is but too much reason to fear that Elson’s predictions were justified. The Commission said repeatedly that it was not out to “point the finger” at anyone. Unfortunately, metaphors about “finger-pointing” or the “blame game” or a “witch hunt” obscure a failure to pursue errors and therefore a failure to seal them up.
Stumble It!