Real Security In The U.S.

I said it once, and I will repeat myself. Profiling works. I know what you’re saying, “You are a white Mormon from the SW U.S.” I don’t even come close to know what it would be like to be profiled all the time. It’s a pain and sometimes, it’s downright humiliating. I get that. I’ve met the TSA. My last name does not sound Syrian, or Muslim. I don’t know what it’s like. That is a true statement I do not know what it is like. But I’ll tell you this. If we want security in this country we are going to have to adopt a more Israeli position on profiling. After this horrible tragedy in Orlando there will be many calls for banning guns. Seriously, I find it hard to believe, given the hard evidence of the Assault Weapon gun ban, and what other countries have done, that any thinking person would think that banning guns will take care of our security problems. I mean Columbine happened during this ban. Explosives are already banned, or heavily regulated, in the U.S. yet we have the Boston Marathon bombing. Have tougher laws made a difference? No they have not and will not make a difference. Banning “assault weapons” will only make it a little harder for someone to get a particular gun. Only slightly harder. If someone is determined to kill in mass, they will. Can you prevent it? Sure! Law enforcement has. The problem is that some get through the cracks. Profiling works in Israel. It does the job when it comes to flying and other security situations. Israel has a fence between Gaza and Israel proper. This has stopped terrorist attacks. They also track those who come into their country. The U.S. does not. I’m not saying track citizens, I’m saying keep track of non-U.S. citizens. I know NSA can do it. Let’s give them the authority to do it. Should we track everyone who is a risk? Sure. Would I like it if it were me? Of course not! But what are we willing to do to be secure? If we are not willing to pay the price, then we will not be secure. You cannot have both. Let me suggest what we could do. Get rid of TSA and their ignorant way of doing things. Start over. Let everyone go all the way through management. Hire those who are serious about security and who will profile the Israeli way. Train them in the Israeli profiling ways.
The real difference between Israel and U.S. security approaches is the goal. Israel wants to stop the terrorist, the U.S. wants to stop the weapon. Israel does not have political problem that the U.S. has. They are consistent regardless of who sits in the Prime Minister’s office. They want to stop terrorism. There is not a political agenda to contend with. The U.S. must stop this if we are serious about fighting terrorism. I do not like the idea of the NSA, or anyone else, spying on me. Although, many people, including me, voluntarily have the government do background checks and security clearances just to get or keep a job. That’s one reason I’m not too concerned. I’ve had background checks done on me by federal and state government since 1983. If I was a risk, I think I’d know it by now and I’d be escorted off of the federal installation where I work. Could mistakes be made? I guess. Could I be targeted? Sure. Am I willing to risk that for a contracting job? I must be willing since I’ve done it for many years. We as Americans must determine what we are willing to give up, in the way of privacy, for some security. I know the quote from Benjamin Franklin about giving up freedom for security and ending up without either. This is something we the people, and the government are going to have to hash out. The NSA is listening, this we know already. The Patriot Act stole some freedom from U.S. citizens. We seemed to tolerate that. Should we? That is up for debate. I think there is a way to do it. But law enforcement needs to not have a “us” against “them” attitude. Citizens are why law enforcement have a job. They are supposed to serve us and we are presumed innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. Law enforcement needs to stop treating us like second class people and abusing their power. I know that there are only a few bad apples in LE. But government needs to understand their role as our servants, not our masters.
The answer is profiling and tracking. This does not mean everyone of a certain faith should not enter this country. The Israeli’s “human factor” is what we would need to use. Ethnicity is a small part of this profile. Country of origin, religion, appearance, and most importantly, behavior are all parts of profiling. Arabs are not banned from Israel, but they are looked at real close. Airports and other ports of entry are professionally manned by highly paid, highly trained agents. They are hand-picked for their intelligence and their ability to read (profile) people. This “inspection and interrogation” is done not just in Israel, but before you get on an Israeli flight bound for Israel. They don’t leave security to other countries. Most Americans would not want to be asked so many questions. They would have a problem with this type of security. Like the Mossad, tank drivers, and air force pilots, Israeli airport security has that no-nonsense, get to the point directness, efficiency and professionalism. The word ‘profiling’ is a political invention by people who don’t want to do security. It doesn’t matter if someone’s black, white, young or old. It’s about their behavior. So what privacy is really getting stepped on when they do this?
The same concept happens in other large public spots. You don’t get questioned when entering a giant shopping center, the people looking at the shoppers’ behavior are there. They are also there at major tourist and religious sites. Most restaurants and many shops have a guard outside with a hand-held metal scanner. After the first two or three, the scans cease being noticeable.
Gene Simmons the sage from the band KISS who was born in Israel explained profiling and security checks this way:
“I think we should be racially profiling anybody from the Middle East … and as an Israeli; I want you to look at me first. I want you to search my anal cavity and look at my tax records. I want you to look at me first, and then at every guy named Muhammad.”
Until we look at security similarly to Israel, sad days like in Orlando last weekend will continue. Politicians will rail against the gun, and our nation will never come together.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn