Terrorism aims to instill fear in its targets, and the TSA is doing terrorists’ work for them.
Talia Goodman (PPS ‘25)
After the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, Americans’ need for reassurance pressured the government into implementing reactive policies that were easy to communicate to the public, even though they did little to improve security. These visible (and enormously expensive) efforts to make Americans feel safe without reducing risks are called “security theater.” The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a prime example of this phenomenon.
Security is a balancing act that requires weighing the costs and benefits of various measures. It requires financial investments and expenditures in time, convenience, capabilities, liberties, and more. People often have little idea of what real threats look like and how to quantify them. While it may be comforting to see uniformed officers patrolling airports and TSA agents searching passengers’ bags, these measures do little to discourage determined terrorists. How the government reacts to threats should be dictated by the reality of the situation, not the public’s perception of it.
Created after 9/11 to prevent terrorism, the TSA is not a security agency — it exists to give the illusion of security. Despite spending billions of dollars on screening technologies and personnel, the TSA has a dismal record when it comes to catching weapons and explosives. In undercover tests at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, mock explosives and guns slipped past TSA checkpoints 95% of
the time. This failure rate is unacceptable, especially considering the agency’s mandate.
TSA’s reliance on security theater creates a false sense of safety while simultaneously reminding travelers that the risk of a terrorist attack is always imminent. For example, after the terrorists used box cutters on 9/11, TSA prohibited box cutters and Swiss army knives. Even though it would be impossible
now for a terrorist to breach the cockpit with a box cutter or a knife, this ban remains in place. Similarly, following Richard Reid’s attempt to detonate plastic explosives in his shoe, TSA mandated all shoes to
be screened using X-ray machines. While banning box cutters and requiring shoe screenings may make travelers feel safer, it does little to prevent determined terrorists from carrying out attacks using alternative methods.
TSA’s focus on surface-level security measures is unsustainable in the long term because it erodes public trust and confidence in the government’s ability to keep them safe. Passengers are subjected to arbitrary and irrational rules, such as full-body scans and pat-downs, that strip them of their privacy and rights. Former TSA agent Jason Harrington confirmed travelers’ suspicions that TSA agents
ridicule the images of travelers’ naked bodies that are visible from the scanners. Harrington also revealed that racial profiling and frequent groping of women occur regularly within the agency. Such actions violate the public’s rights and create a climate of mistrust that can make people less likely to report suspicious activity.
A lack of accountability and transparency are central to the TSA’s failures. Despite being funded by taxpayers, the agency’s decision-making processes are largely opaque, and its operations have little public oversight. Furthermore, the TSA has little incentive to improve its performance because its funding and existence primarily depend on the perception that it provides security. It is time for the TSA to shift the focus away from security theater and towards measures that are actually effective at reducing risks.
There are several steps that the government can take to improve the TSA’s effectiveness. First, the agency needs to be held accountable for its failures. TSA should be subject to regular audits and oversight by independent third-party organizations. Second, the TSA needs to improve its intelligence- gathering and analysis capabilities, enabling the agency to identify potential threats and respond promptly and effectively. Third, the TSA must enhance communication and coordination among law
enforcement agencies to ensure that information is shared in a timely and effective manner and that all agencies are working together to keep Americans safe.
Security measures are essential to keeping Americans safe. However, these measures must be based on the reality of the situation, not the public’s perception of it. The TSA’s approach to security has been ineffective, wasteful, and an infringement on people’s privacy and rights. We do not just want to feel secure. We want to be secure. It is time for the government to take a step back, reassess its approach to security, and develop measures that are actually effective at reducing risks while protecting the public’s privacy and rights.
Talia Goodman (PPS ‘25) is from Phoenix, Arizona and is a Public Policy Undergraduate at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. This piece was submitted as an op-ed in the Spring ‘23 PUBPOL 301 course. This content does not represent the official or unofficial views of the Sanford School, Polis, Duke University, or any entity or individual other than the author.
