Fire the TSA Chief?

Should TSA chief Janet Napolitano lose her job? In the words of Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” In a TV interview, Crandall went on to say we need someone in the job who actually knows something about security and transportation – not some politician.

Now that’s the most cogent pronouncement on the subject since the “Fruit of the Loom” Bomber’s attempt at jihad on Christmas Day.

The President has referred to this episode as a “systemic error”. How much of a breakdown was this "error"? Consider the following: A young foreign national male, traveling alone, flies from Nigeria (a destination publicly listed for questionable security procedures) to Amsterdam. He buys a one-way ticket, pays cash, and has no luggage. He then transfers to a U.S. flag carrier bound for a U.S. destination – Detroit. Upon his arrival into Amsterdam, any one of these factors should have triggered heightened observation and further evaluation of this individual. In the absence of an additional security check, why didn’t the Delta Airlines station agent request one, or at the very least, call for further questioning of this individual?

In the face of this catastrophe, Janet Napolitano’s attempt to deflect blame for this lapse by stating “the system worked” was utterly idiotic. It underscored the fact that she is in way over her head and has no clear idea of the magnitude of her responsibility. Make no mistake: This is an issue we simply must get right – the first time, every time. Yet, this Administration has yet to hold anyone accountable. Instead, the President claims a broad-based “systemic” error. How many more such “systemic” errors can we afford?

To put it in military terms, the Obama Administration clearly does not understand the responsibility of command. If a Naval vessel winds up stuck on a sand bar or suffers some other mishap, it doesn’t matter who was on the bridge at the time; it’s always the skipper of the ship who bears the ultimate responsibility - and the consequences. Sadly, that concept seems lost on this regime.

Considering this Administration’s stances on a number of issues so far (health care “reform”, intractable national debt, massive stimulus spending, bank bailouts, illegal immigration, etc.), it makes one wonder if Obama may actually be trying to wreck this nation on purpose – to facilitate its radical re-shaping into the socialist society he apparently craves...