Security Experts Say Terrorist Warning Shows New Maturity at TSA

Security experts, politicians and even some of the agency’s harshest critics are lauding the Transportation Safety Administration for last week’s warning that terrorists might be finding new ways to smuggle weapons on to planes.

The Associated Press’ Michael J. Sniffen says the TSA warned last week that the terrorists could be testing whether or not they can smuggle innocent-looking bomb components on to airplanes. Shiffen says the warnings demonstrate “that the agency the flying public loves to hate has matured beyond confiscating nail clippers, tweezers and lighters.”

And the experts agreed. “This is what TSA should be doing whether it turns out to be a whole bunch of harmless coincidences or part of a plot,” James Carafano, a security expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation who in the past called for TSA’s abolition, told Sniffen. “This kind of analysis wouldn’t have happened before Sept. 11, 2001.”

“Honestly, I don’t care if someone is carrying a water bottle, wearing a head scarf, or buying a one-way ticket, but if someone has a block of cheese with wires and a detonator - I want the FBI to be called in,” Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at the security firm BT Counterpane, told Sniffen. Sniffen added that cheese is a good stand-in for explosives such as C4 and Semtex that are favored by terrorists.

This security bulletin, plus TSA Administrator Kip Hawley’s decision to stop confiscating most cigarette lighters on Aug. 4, “shows someone is thinking somewhere,” Schneier added. “It’s about time. It’s refreshing to have something nice to say about TSA.”

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