DALLAS -- Over two years, the American government will spend more than $160 million installing body scanners at U.S. airports.
The Transportation Security Administration says the machines can identify suspicious powders, liquids and gels which are otherwise hard to detect.
The investment is a clear sign of America's reliance on technology in addressing counter-terrorism.
That's a strong contrast to how Israel — a nation that's long been the target of terrorist attacks — deals with security.
"We focus on the suspicious passenger. We want to know who is a suspect," said "Avi," a former Israeli air marshal who doesn't want to be further identified for security reasons.
His company, Mayday International, teaches counter-terrorism techniques to the likes of the FBI and the TSA. "In the U.S., they focus on luggage, knives, flashlights, whatever," he said. "We want to get the guy and his luggage and then everyone he knows."
Avi says Israeli security costs less but is more effective.
Why?
He says the TSA relies heavily on technology and passengers rarely talk to a security officer.
In Israel, Avi says passengers come in frequent contact with an officer looking for travelers who may seem worried or uncomfortable or otherwise suspicious.
"That's when we talk to you," Avi said. "We check your documents. Sometimes we check your luggage. Hand search. Everything done polite, friendly and fast."
Avi said those interactions take place in three distinct layers:
- First, as a passenger drives into the airport to park, an agent may ask the driver questions while still in the car. Avi says, a small number of travelers may be pulled to the side for further questioning.
- Second, there are agents in the parking lots and in the terminal areas monitoring passenger behavior. Travelers there may be politely greeted, or questioned, by an agent.
- And finally the third layer, at the security checkpoint. Travelers are never separated from their luggage until it is hand-searched and screened in their presence. And again, agents will question travelers who look like they may pose a threat.
But isn't that what we've come to think of as "profiling"?
"You should never look at what a person is doing at home; it's what the person is doing at the airport," Avi said. "Religious and ethnic has nothing to do with it."
The TSA says it has successfully stayed ahead of threats by continually updating screening procedures and researching and deploying new technologies.
It should also be noted that the volume of travelers in the United States is significantly higher than in Israel.
"We don't have a nice old grandma or a four-year-old kid in the airport in public take off their clothes; we don't do that," Avi said. "We don't do the body scanners. We don't take your shoes off. If you have a wonderful, expensive Texas belt, we don't take it off."
Avi believes America's security forces can do a better job — and without angering the public.
E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com
