Ashley Chi
New Airline Security
On Apr. 2, the Obama administration announced a new security screening for all flights to the U.S. This new system will include enhanced security at international checkpoints, and use the most advanced imaging technology and explosives detection. However, the most important changes may be the stepped-up intelligence screenings. All passengers whose personal data- including passport information and travel patterns- match those on the terrorist watch list will be subject to extra searches and may be put on a “no-fly” list.
The procedures were developed to prevent another event like last Christmas’s failed bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of ties to Al Qaeda who allegedly tried to blow up an airliner Christmas Day with a bomb hidden in his underwear. After the incident, officials began mandatory screening for each person from any of 14 “high-risk” countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. However, this system was met with much disapproval, being condemned as discriminatory and unfair to be singling people out based their nationality or religion.
Under pressure to revise the system, the Obama administration unveiled the new security system a few months later. In addition to rigorous searches and updated technology, the new security system will require passengers from all countries who share personal characteristics that match the latest intelligence information about potential attackers undergo additional security screenings. Even U.S. citizens returning from abroad will be subject to extra searches if they match certain characteristics stored in the intelligence database. These characteristics include the names, nationalities, certain facial features and details about recent travel activity about potential attackers. In many cases, the U.S. is alerted of a possible attack by a person about whom we only possess fragmentary information- a partial name, nationality, or facial features. Freshman Kerry Wang said, “I think [matching information] would be effective up to a certain point, because we can't just group all terrorists into the same category.”
The new security strategy has been greeted with much positivity, especially when comparing the factors of race and religion. Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations civil rights group said, “We applaud the Obama administration's new passenger screening policy because it screens passengers based on actual suspicious behaviors or actions, not on national origin or religion." Sophomore Jeffrey Shih agrees with the majority of opinion and said, “The new measures [seem to be] more effective to help protect citizens from terrorists.”
To put it in a nutshell, the system will be “much more intelligence-based, as opposed to blunt force,” said a senior administration official. Officials agree that the system would provide greater fairness than the current method, because it would rely on frequently updated intelligence data and involve more countries. Freshman Anna Wang said, “[However] we shouldn’t rely so much on the new system, because there would be drastic consequences if we did.” Only time will tell if it is, indeed, more effective.
HEADLINES:
Tightening the Security System
For the Safety of the U.S.
New Airline Security
On Apr. 2, the Obama administration announced a new security screening for all flights to the U.S. This new system will include enhanced security at international checkpoints, and use the most advanced imaging technology and explosives detection. However, the most important changes may be the stepped-up intelligence screenings. All passengers whose personal data- including passport information and travel patterns- match those on the terrorist watch list will be subject to extra searches and may be put on a “no-fly” list.
The procedures were developed to prevent another event like last Christmas’s failed bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of ties to Al Qaeda who allegedly tried to blow up an airliner Christmas Day with a bomb hidden in his underwear. After the incident, officials began mandatory screening for each person from any of 14 “high-risk” countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. However, this system was met with much disapproval, being condemned as discriminatory and unfair to be singling people out based their nationality or religion.
Under pressure to revise the system, the Obama administration unveiled the new security system a few months later. In addition to rigorous searches and updated technology, the new security system will require passengers from all countries who share personal characteristics that match the latest intelligence information about potential attackers undergo additional security screenings. Even U.S. citizens returning from abroad will be subject to extra searches if they match certain characteristics stored in the intelligence database. These characteristics include the names, nationalities, certain facial features and details about recent travel activity about potential attackers. In many cases, the U.S. is alerted of a possible attack by a person about whom we only possess fragmentary information- a partial name, nationality, or facial features. Freshman Kerry Wang said, “I think [matching information] would be effective up to a certain point, because we can't just group all terrorists into the same category.”
The new security strategy has been greeted with much positivity, especially when comparing the factors of race and religion. Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations civil rights group said, “We applaud the Obama administration's new passenger screening policy because it screens passengers based on actual suspicious behaviors or actions, not on national origin or religion." Sophomore Jeffrey Shih agrees with the majority of opinion and said, “The new measures [seem to be] more effective to help protect citizens from terrorists.”
To put it in a nutshell, the system will be “much more intelligence-based, as opposed to blunt force,” said a senior administration official. Officials agree that the system would provide greater fairness than the current method, because it would rely on frequently updated intelligence data and involve more countries. Freshman Anna Wang said, “[However] we shouldn’t rely so much on the new system, because there would be drastic consequences if we did.” Only time will tell if it is, indeed, more effective.
HEADLINES:
Tightening the Security System
For the Safety of the U.S.