By land, Bush spent the last couple weeks telling the world that America's borders aren't secure. He blasts the media over the articles about domestic spying while he hasn't done the most basic job of securing our borders. Apparently, terrorists read articles in USA Today and the New York Times about domestic spying, but don't watch Presidential addresses where he announces that we have porous borders.
By sea, the Coast Guard does "surprise" inspections that aren't a surprise, because money rules over security again:
Under intense pressure from shipping companies concerned about costly delays, the Coast Guard is tipping off some large commercial ships about security searches that had been a surprise, according to high-ranking Coast Guard officials.By air, the anonymous federal air marshals -- anonymity being key to their success -- aren't so anonymous:
The searches began after the Sept. 11 attacks as part of a major revamping of the Coast Guard and its new antiterrorism mission. But shipping companies say the surprise boardings at sea cause unnecessary delays, costing up to $40,000 an hour.
More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week.National security was nothing more than a political issue for Bush. That's never been more clear.
The draft report, "Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security," cites the service's dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.
In practice, the report found, "many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings."
