WASHINGTON – The no-fly list failed to keep the Times Square suspect off the plane…

How are we doing so far?  From Yahoo News, although you can find this anywhere….

“WASHINGTON – The no-fly list failed to keep the Times Square suspect off the plane. Faisal Shahzad had boarded a jetliner bound for the United Arab Emirates Monday night before federal authorities pulled him back.

The night’s events, gradually coming to light, underscored the flaws in the nation’s aviation security system, which despite its technologies, lists and information sharing, often comes down to someone making a right call.

As federal agents closed in, Faisal Shahzad was aboard Emirates Flight 202. He reserved a ticket on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, paid cash on arrival and walked through security without being stopped. By the time Customs and Border Protection officials spotted Shahzad’s name on the passenger list and recognized him as the bombing suspect they were looking for, he was in his seat and the plane was preparing to leave the gate.”

So, GA, the hypthetical threat to National Security will be kept safe by… Third party Watch List Service Providers, audited by the TSA to do thier job right, etc., etc., etc.

The TSA can’t do it’s own job right, they have been tasked with commercial aviation safety for almost a decade and still people try to blow their underwear off, still board flights on the No Fly List, still get on chartered aircraft because of their donations to the Clinton Presidential Campaign.

I guess we should all be happy the Secretary’s comment this time isn’t “the system worked”.  The systems busted, always has been.  You aren’t going to catch crooks or terrorists with sniffers (unless it’s a canine), X-ray machines, etc.  You do it with old fashioned police work, people looking in your eyes…  But so far, the TSA seems happy to line up the contractors at the government trough to make stuff, things, gadgets that will save us.

But they aren’t, are they?