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Houston Chronicle Article Analysis

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In this article, the aviation and business enterprise writer for the Houston Chronicle, Andrea Rumbaugh begins by stating that after fifteen years and billions of dollars, “threats to air travel continue to evolve and airport security has become as laborious as it is routine.” While security experts have a myriad of opinions on whether the current process is effective or not, all believe that there is definitely room for improvement. Aviation professionals strongly believe that even though TSA screening and other programs currently in use have acted as a deterrent, deficiencies and other issues open the door for a catastrophic attack. The program and screening process that was put in place post 9/11 has definitely served its purpose to close gaps that allowed the terrorists to carry out their attacks in the manor that they did. However, terrorism continues to evolve and the concern about cyber attacks as well as not having enough armed law enforcement …show more content…

While the screening of names to match against watch lists happens in advance, the addition of full-body scanning machines and clothing that needed to be removed was a step in the right direction. Ken Button, a transportation economist and professor at George Mason says “Even a show of force can help deter attacks. Highly visible security measures keep people thinking about security and make them more likely to notice unusual activity.” Within this process is what some experts call “security theater”. Part of any security program, its similar to turning on the porch light at your house when you aren’t home. Combining the efforts of the above mentioned security systems as well as cameras in terminals and bomb sniffing dogs, the former director of security for JetBlue Airways and former federal security director for the TSA, Robert DeFrancesco says this has all culminated to make “airports more

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