So, once again a terrorist associated with al-Qa’ida has nearly taken out an aeroplane, and governments are scrabbling around trying to find ways to prevent that exact type of attack from ever happening again. This time, we are being threatened with full-body scanners, and Gordon Brown — against official advice — has decided to install these things, which cost £80,000 apiece, at all British airports. Then there are the even more ridiculous reactive measures, such as banning people getting out of their seats, even for the toilet, in the last hour, because that’s when the attempt on Christmas Day happened, as if terrorists won’t just switch to letting the devices off before that. (More: Umar Lee, Ginny.)
Today, it was revealed that the scanners could not be used on travellers under 18 as that would break child pornography laws, which prohibit naked images of people under that age (a trial at Manchester airport went ahead only after under-18s were exempted). There are also worries that images of celebrities or “people with unusual or freakish body profiles” would be exploited by some security staff.
The disability group blog FWD/Forward notes that all manner of medical items will show up in the scans, among them catheters, incontinence pads, colostomy bags, breast implants and prostheses, and the genitalia of people with intersex conditions:
People with marginalised bodies already have major issues with air travel – with the uncertainty of the security process, with the practicalities of dealing with aids and needs while travelling, with the spoon-sapping of travel, with no option but unfamiliar foods that may affect the body unpredictably, with the difficulty of maintaining personal privacy in prolonged periods in close quarters with others, with unpredictable delays that affect health, with security threats when bodies don’t ‘match’ identification documents.
Soon there may be one more element in the mix: the sure knowledge that one’s personal business will be laid bare in front of security-theatre goons who will almost certainly be poorly trained in disability awareness and gender tolerance.
I give it 24 hours before clandestine mobile phone images of travellers with marginalised bodies show up on the Internet.
The discussion which follows is worth reading, in my opinion; it touches on whether scanning is preferable to pat-downs or not, and the extent to which security staff (or “security theatre goons” as the post calls them) can be relied on to be sensitive to the needs of people with various disabilities and medical conditions. Someone advanced the idea that Israeli methods of ensuring airport security are worth exploring as throughput is vastly quicker than at British or American airports, although others countered that the authorities there are open that racial profiling is an important part of it, that “most of my Muslim friends (or people of descent that leads to them being assumed to be Muslim) who have attempted to enter Israel have experienced as a component of their security procedures their willingness to profile people of a particular religion and detain them for 8+ hours in a little room while periodically questioning and harassing them” and that some people with disabilities such as autism might fall foul of their behavioural profiling methods. (The notorious case of Maysoon Zayid should serve as a warning to anyone advocating Israeli methods as a complete solution.)
Gary Younge, in yesterday’s Guardian, noted the pattern of reactive and repressive security measures following terrorist attacks (or attempts), which are often fruitless in terms of catching actual terrorists, alongside failure of the authorities to do their jobs properly and take notice of intelligence which is available, to the extent that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was able to get onto a plane after his own father had warned that he was a terrorist threat. Meanwhile, the much-resented liquids restrictions in the UK are, it turns out, not being enforced rigorously: news reports emerged that the ban was breached in the past week, while this lady reported various inconsistencies and confusion on different parts of her recent journeys.
Still, one aspect of this case which has not been adequately discussed is the fact that these scanners represent the first case in which non-suspect people are subjected to this kind of invasion of their privacy to non-medical staff: an image of them naked. If this gains general acceptance, it will be much less easy to object to any future invasion: it will be said, “you get seen naked every time you fly; what’s so objectionable about this?”. Given that experts believe that such scanners will not detect explosives and other chemicals, only objects, it is difficult to see how they will prevent anything that existing security measures, if implemented properly, would not prevent. It will simply give the state more licence to impose more intrusive “security” measures whenever they claim there is a need. It should be resisted vigorously.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Qadri’s fatwa breaks no new ground
- Attempt to link Islamic societies to terrorism
- Juan Cole: Bin Laden tape irrelevant
- More scaremongering over ISOCs and al-Qa’ida
- Henry Porter: from war to police state
An issue that a lot of people are not talking about is the American reliance on technology because we do not have enough educated people to work in TSA. If you fly in and out of Tel Aviv ( which I guess I did 8 times if you count both ways) they do not have any of this kind of stuff. You just get questioned a lot by interviewers who know the questions to ask and what to look for.
These TSA agents in America, and even a lot of higher level federal agents, I would be very surprised if they know where Yemen was on the map, could tell the difference between a Hebrew or Arabic name, could tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim, and they have no clue what to ask for and what to look for so they have to rely on technology to make up for a lack in intelligence.
The situation in the UK should not be as bad.
I used to work for the Transportation Security Administration here in the States and I would disagree with some of Umar’s assertions. A large component of the screeners are ex-military, many of whom have served or are serving through reserve rotations in the Middle East.
Both as a passenger and someone who has had to screen and pat-down individuals, I prefer the body scanner. I don’t like touching people and I don’t like people touching me. I think the fears and concerns a bit overblown, particularly here in the US, the way it is implemented, the screener that views the images is in a separate room away from the main screening floor and communicates via headset. Muslim Apple´s last blog ..Getting Gas: When change equals $9.11
Muslim Apple,
Remember you are in the DC area, an area that is not typical of the demographics in most American cities. I would venture I guess from my experience that there is not a single TSA agent in St. Louis of non black American or white stock and the same can be said of dozens of airports around the country. Also, I have talked to Iraq and Afghan vets, most have ZERO clue about Islam and Muslims, even after coming home. Umar´s last blog ..Bad Weather, Murder, and Death of a Young Muslim Brother
Umar, I don’t think St. Louis is representative of a “typical American city” either, however one defines it. The DC area is interesting in that we have three major airports, it’s a cosmopolitan area, the seat of the federal government and a major tourist and business center. We see a lot, much more than in smaller regions, which I’ve lived in and interacted with agents from those areas. But I’m sure you know St. Louis better than I and I know the DC area better than you do.
From your comments here and on your blog, it appears that you do not have more than a superficial understanding of TSA and/or the screening process. As for military-types, we may or may not have had a similar range of experiences (I interact with people in military in my family, colleagues at work, friends, classmates, neighbors, medical personnel, etc) and those that have spent time in the Middle East tend to know more about Islam and Muslims than the average American, their views may not be as nuanced as yours or mine but in general I’ve found it to be better. Muslim Apple´s last blog ..Lions, and Tigers, and Muslims at the Gate! Oh, my!
Demographically, St. Louis is far more typical of an average American city. I also have probably spent more time as a Muslim living in the DC area than you have and have lived in a number of other cities. Because it is the capitol, DC has some things going on that make it unique and this even pertains to the Muslim community. The Muslim Community of the DC area is unique because it attracted a unique kind of immigrant. As an example those who founded Dar al Hijrah were well-known political activists back home,the Somalis of NOVA include many of the prominent families who have fled Somalia and therefore their community is more developed than in a place like St. Louis were most of them are living in the projects, the Afghan Masjid includes the families of those in the Karzai cabinet. This is not typical of the Muslim community in America and there are a lot more things I can add to that list.
I do not really want to know a lot about TSA. I fly as little as possible; but I am at the airport several times a day and I see them. I am not some FOB Muslim trying to do PR so America will fall in love with me. There are members in my family who were in Iraq, I work with guys who have been to both Iraq and Afghanistan, I have neighbors in the military,and I pick up military personnel all of the time. Guys I went to high school with did not go into the military to be medics they went to the front lines if they went. Most know a little more about Islam and Muslims then the average American but at the end of the day know very little and most have a negative opinion. Perhaps they open up to me more because they do not know I’m a Muslim when they chat with me in my cab they feel free to make all of their ignorant comments.
Very interesting post! I have not traveled in a long time, however I must admit that, as a disabled person, the idea of over the top security measures such as being seen naked, really does add a lot of extra stress to an already stressful ordeal. Hayley´s last blog ..Mustering My Mental Might & Ploughing Onward
Trust me Umar being visibly black and a woman and having a name difficult for most people to pronounce as well as being Muslim, people tend to make ignorant comments around me before I usually put them in check.
Also, forgot to mention that here at all three major DC airports, most of the agents on the floor are black and most of the supervisors behind the podium are white. Not to many people of foreign extraction at all, that citizenship requirement and perhaps the background check tends to disqualify them. Muslim Apple´s last blog ..Isolation to Integration: Befriending our America – Part II