Newsflash: Airport Screening Still Ineffective

Billions of dollars later and despite warnings that terrorists may use various seemingly innocent items to construct bombs, air screeners are still incapable of stopping those items from being carried onto airplanes at 19 different airports.

Government investigators smuggled liquid explosives and detonators past airport security, exposing a dangerous hole in the ability of the United States to keep these forbidden items off airplanes, according to a government report.

Investigators learned about the components to make an improvised explosive device on the Internet and purchased the parts at local stores, according to the report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office. These covert tests were conducted at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at 19 airports in March, May and June of this year.

In August 2006, the TSA changed its screening policies after officials foiled a plot to use liquid explosives to blow up commercial airlines headed toward the U.S.

The TSA is quick to claim that there are multiple layers of security that would prevent such items from being carried on board or built into usable weapons, but I find that questionable.

Consider that the screeners at the checkpoints are checking the passengers before they board. After that, they're still in control of their items, which means they'd be able to get them on board and assemble the devices. What other layer of security are they talking about unless they consider passengers who might be sitting next to some terrorist taking matters into their own hands is one of those layers?

Air security checkpoints are more about providing the veneer of security rather than actually providing security. Terrorists determined to penetrate such security may be able to do so as these tests show. That they haven't to this point is more luck than skill on our part.

The report doesn't point out which 19 airports were penetrated by the GAO testers.