Feeling Safer at the Airport Yet?

In the past couple of weeks, a range of new airport security measures have been called for or implemented. Some, like a restriction on holding any items in your lap during the last hour of your flight, barely lasted the week. Others, like the full-body scanners that create a complete image of the person being scanned, seem destined to stick around. But it's the newest one that may turn out to be the most controversial: As of Monday, all passengers with a passport from or traveling through one of 14 countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) will get a full body pat-down and extra screening.

A homeland security official assured the New York Times that the move is not considered "a step in the direction of racial profiling." If that's true, then the distinction between national profiling and racial profiling seems to be a pretty fine one. Regardless, it also obscures another issue.

Terrorists are hardly located in just one or two (or even 14) countries. If extra security measures are taken just for those nations, why wouldn't terrorists simply route around them or recruit from countries not on the list to avoid being flagged? And a system that demands extra scrutiny for everyone with a connection to a few countries will tie up security agents' time and attention, potentially making it that much easier for others who deserve close scrutiny to pass unnoticed.

I do think the airport security system should be improved, but effective changes would need to be across the board, resulting in smarter screenings. Otherwise we're just shoring up some areas at the expense of others.