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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend....

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To: Sully- who wrote (3802)	9/26/2004 1:48:33 PM
From: Sully-	of 35834

NO PROFILING, NO SECURITY NY POST FLYING BLIND: HOW POLITICAL CORRECTNESS CONTINUES TO COMPROMISE AIRLINE SAFETY POST 9/11 BY MICHAEL A. SMERCONISH RUNNING PRESS, 232 PAGES, $18.95 AT an April 8 hearing of the 9/11 Commission, former Navy Secretary John Lehman asked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice the following: "Were you aware that it was the policy . . . to fine airlines if they have more than two Arab males in secondary questioning because that's discriminatory?" That question is the impetus behind Michael A. Smerconish's "Flying Blind." Smerconish is on a mission to find out if Lehman's question is the official policy of the Department of Transportation, or any other federal agency. The answer? Maybe. The issue is "profiling." Smerconish asks: Considering the fact that the 9/11 hijackers "were all young Arab males who had their religion, ethnicity and appearance in common," does it make any sense to willfully ignore certain characteristics so as to avoid accusations of profiling or civil rights violations? The author makes it very clear that there is a difference between using someone's appearance as the sole criteria for increased scrutiny, and having it be a "tipping point" for additional investigation. Unfortunately, the government's solution is "random search," which equates "85-year- old women" and "young Arab males" so we "don't offend anyone." The author highlights the inanity of this policy through his personal experience on a trip to and from Florida — his 8-year-old son was chosen both ways for secondary screening, and both times screeners allowed him to stand in for his son. Smerconish blames this lack of common sense on Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. He argues that Mineta's creation of a "politically correct atmosphere" at DOT stems from his boyhood experience as one of the "Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during WWII." But while it is true that major airlines have been sued for "profiling," the fact is all the ones mentioned in the book settled those suits by paying substantial fines. Thus it remains unclear whether government policy has been tainted by Mineta's particular bias or the agencies involved are merely enforcing existing laws. Smerconish, a radio personality in Philadelphia, unfortunately doesn't bring much that is new to this discussion. Much of what's included is already part of either the public record or the public's awareness. Bottom line: Whether or not there will be any substantial and necessary changes in government policy on airport security remains unanswered by this book. nypost.com

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