Bomb Parts Get Through U.S. Airport Security

I shouldn't be surprised, really, but here's the news anyway: Undercover agents traveling on U.S. flights were able to sneak "liquids and other materials that could be used to make explosive devices" past the TSA and on to American flights. Says the General Accountability Office, the tests "clearly demonstrate that a terrorist group, using publicly available information and few resources, could cause severe damage to an airplane and threaten the safety of passengers by bringing prohibited IED and IID components through security checkpoints."

Such components can be used to make explosive devices (liquid explosives with a low-yield detonator and a similar incendiary device also involving liquid explosives) for a cost of less than $150. The study does not necessarily fault TSA investigators, who generally followed the proper procedure, but simply notes that a little careful planning to take advantage of the weaknesses in the system can make smuggling contraband onboard all too simple. (The gist seems to be that if explosives are carried inside bottles with non-contraband labels, no one gives them a second look.) You can read the highlights of the report here. On that page, click on "Full Report" for the entire 14-page document.

The report is quite damning, but is light on takeaways. Aside from severely overhauling what travelers are allowed to take on planes, the report does state that "risks can be reduced through improvements in human capital, improved processes, and continued advances in technology." But the degree of that reduction is a mystery.

Meanwhile, legislators don't seem too thrilled. Says California Rep. Henry Waxman, "The TSA needs to explain how after spending billions of dollars over six years, it still is failing to stop dangerous materials from making it onto airplanes. This is unacceptable and has to be fixed." Hear hear.