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December 11, 2003

I Feel Safer Already

Oh, wait, no I don't.

Federal sources confirmed that on the morning of Aug. 16 a foreign national from China presented expired documents and attempted to board a plane at DIA with a one-way ticket to Boston...

The witness said that the woman's documents raised several red flags so an airline employee contacted two law enforcement agencies -- a Denver police officer and the federal agency responsible for immigration issues.

"The police said, 'This isn't our problem. This is an INS' problem.' And INS wasn't even there at that hour," said the employee at DIA.

That's right, the INS has no one on hand at DIA until 8am. Sure, they provide 24-hour protection of our borders, but much like the Steven Wright 7-11 joke, "yes, but not in a row."

The passenger walked away and abandoned her unchecked luggage and apparently, nearly four months later, no law enforcement agency has located her, questioned her motive or held her accountable in any way.

"It says we are just as vulnerable as we were prior to 9-11," security expert Boyd said.

I'm becoming more convinced that the only reliable, partial protection we have against terrorists is the willingness of passengers to kick the ass of anyone who threatens their plane. Clearly the government isn't up to the task.