Inability to stop underwear bombers is only the beginning of the problems with our security forces.
Author and citizen journalist Michael Yon has been through many of the worst places on earth and come out with a smile and a story. He spent years self-embedded with the US military, reporting on events in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing first-hand stories which the mainstream media failed to cover. As a former soldier and a voice of truth Yon is a real American hero. But he didn't get a hero's welcome when he returned to the United States on Sunday. Instead, he found himself in the Seattle airport, detained, interrogated, and ultimately handcuffed by customs agents.…
Article comments
26 - Dr Dreadful
Dave, (a) is this actually true, and (b) if it is, is it based on anything more than anecdotal evidence?
27 - STM
Maybe. They teach you to shoot the person furthest away first.
28 - STM
Of course, there would be a million variables. I think if you look at what the US and the coalition are doing in the mid-east at the moment, they also teach you not to make assumptions.
Making assumptions was part of what turned everything pear-shaped in the first place.
I would suggest they teach you to think about whether the women are actually just wives or daughters or mothers rather than someone who might try to blow you up.
Some of Michael Yon's writing's are instructive in this regard, BTW, especially in terms of the change of focus in Iraq and Afghanistan.
29 - Dave Nalle
My comment was specifically in reference to hostage situations where the women are armed. I think the doctrine originates with the Israelis, but who knows better than them?
Dave
30 - STM
The SAS
31 - Tim Singleton
Annon:
You need to back way up and re-evaluate what you said.
"Hmmmm sounds like you ran afoul of the behavior detection folks at TSA. If so... they were doing their job, & you were acting up. Trust me, they could have cared less about your income, they were using dialogue to see if you a bigger problem other than just being a jerk. The questions were not nearly as important as were your reaction to them.
Calm down, get a grip and you won'tsingle yourself out for extea screening.
Oh... and David... Isreal comes to the US to fine tune their behavior training. But, granted, we could be a little more thorough if we walked around the with Uzi's. Not gonna happen in the US, Bud."
Every word you wrote drips with Fascism. "Behaviour detection folks" my @$$. If I am tired and worn out and just returning from a war zone, I do not feel like being harrassed by some 250lbs of dogs#1t stuffed into a 100 lbs. bad uniform who would most likely drop his d@mn weapon and run squealing into the night when confronted with someone more dangerous than an 80 year old tourist from Japan.
TSA agents are clearly being recruited from the rising predator class in America and need to be stood up to. When the day arrives that they taser some foreign national to death in the airport because he didn't step lively enough I hope they send them to worst state correctional facilities available so they can get the special treatment they deserve. I used to be a Correctional Officer, so I know in detail what they will be in for.
The arrogance, false pride, and future karma payback in your words was simply astounding.
32 - Tim Singleton
"so they can get the special treatment they deserve. I used to be a Correctional Officer, so I know in detail what they will be in for"
should have ended in "at the hands of their fellow inmates."
33 - Dr Dreadful
I used to be a Correctional Officer, so I know in detail what they will be in for.
If the sort of behavior you're hinting at was routine in the prison you worked at, I have to wonder how effective you and your colleagues were.
34 - Cindy
Tim,
TSA agents are clearly being recruited from the rising predator class in America and need to be stood up to.
Great choice of words. I think that is exactly right. But what do you mean by that? Can you say more about it?
What about your other experiences--in the military and as a prison guard? I imagine they also contribute to your view that there is a rising predator class in America?
35 - Cindy
Good article, Dave.
36 - roger nowosielski
It's not often that Dave gets a praise from Cindy. The world must be changing.
37 - Cindy
True, Roger, it is not often, but it happens. Dave and I are both libertarians. Dave from the right and I from the left (libertarian socialist). So, both of us are interested in govt oppression and would be expected to agree on certain things.
I really like when Dave focuses on stories that expose govt oppression and also MSM's marginalization of it.
38 - Jeannie Danna
hello Cindy!!!:) sorry to comment in this thread without reading, but i wanted to connect again.
39 - Cindy
Hiya Jeannie :-)
Nice to see you! I was trying to track you down in another thread to do the same thing! But I probably wandered away before I could due to ADD. I am glad you did!
I hope everything is good with you. :-)
40 - annon
Tim,
I do not need to re-evaluate. I am not a fascist.
Please to not think that having served our country gives either of us a special right to dump all over people who are just doing their jobs, as we did ours. Thank you for your service to our country. Remember that terrorism comes in both foreign and homegrown forms. Do you remember the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City? The bomber was Timothy McVey, he received the Bronze Star during his military service. He looked like any All American guy. And he fits the definition of a terrorist. So, yea... behavior detection officers look for anomalies in behaviors, because profiling just doesn't work. And when you act up and act out, a reasonable security officer will want to know why. Are you stressed because you plan to do something bad, or are you just having a bad day? Calm down, accept that being screened and having your bags searched is part of the process and you'll have a much less negative experience.
Are some of the TSA officers jerks? Of course they are. Have you ever worked any place where at least a few people weren't jerks? I bet there were a few of your fellow correctional officers that fit the bill. I know that there were in the Military Police units that I was in.
Remember... flying is not a right. The airlines can decline to sell a ticket to anyone. If you don't like the hassle associated with air travel, may I suggest Greyhound. Of course, they may also ask you to check your attitude at the door.
41 - Don Bryan
Their seems to be two different stories here. One involing TSA and the other customs
agents. I suspect that the rules and regulations and suthority would vary. Our
right violations began a long time ago,Long before 1 /11 etc. All of our problems start
with congress. Until we throw all the bums
out,do not expect any improvement.
42 - House
Relevant Information:
-Border Patrol stopped him from ENTERING THE COUNTRY, not from getting on a plane.
-Michael Yon is an AMERICAN CITIZEN, and cannot be prevented from RE-ENTERING the country of his BIRTH.
As I see it, this was not an airplane security issue, or a question of whether to allow Yon admittance into the U.S. Since Yon is a citizen, the only reason BP would interrogate Yon would be to fish for criminal activity while he was overseas.
It's no different from when traffic cops fish for guns and drugs when they pull you over for speeding.
Cooperating with police in those situations are not in your interest. Chances are, you've done something wrong that you don't even know about. The more cooperative you are, the more likely you'll figure out what you did. Likewise, a mis-statement could be construed as lying, which is also an offense.
Obviously, it's best practice not to get lippy, but I can understand why people lose their patience.