While Al-Qaeda ‘plans summer attacks’
Airlines in the United States have been warned that the al-Qaeda terror network could carry out hijackings or suicide bombings by the end of the summer.
Air marshals pulled from key flights in move to cut costs
Despite renewed warnings about possible airline hijackings, the Transportation Security Administration has alerted federal air marshals that as of Friday they will no longer be covering cross-country or international flights, MSNBC.com has learned. The decision to drop coverage on flights that many experts consider to be at the highest risk of attack apparently stems from a policy decision to rework schedules so that air marshals don’t have to incur the expense of staying overnight in hotels.”
Next DHS initiative: Self-conducted security check. Air travelers will x-ray their own bags and use the honor system to go through the magnetometer to save on the salaries for security screeners.
Edit: TSA flip-flops on air marshal schedules. I guess they realized their policy made no sense. Despite the flip-flop, this is still yet another example of the Bush Administration pledging to do something and then failing to adequately fund that program.
