History Of The TSA

The Transportation Safety Administration, other known as the TSA, is a federally-funded subdivision of the Department of Homeland Security. Their mission is to “protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce” (1). Overall, the intent is to protect mass-transits systems across the United States by creating and enforcing policies. They are mainly recognized for their presence in airports, but the TSA also protect our nation’s railways, seaports, highways, and buses (2). The TSA was implemented after the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001 (2). Over the years, the TSA has evolved tremendously into what we know it is today. Although the TSA has become a recognized organization of

It was inaugurated on November 19, 2001 through the Aviation and Transportation Security Act by George W. Bush (2). This legislation was a quick reaction to the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2011. These attacks were the first major terrorist acts on American soil. This horrific incident was caused by nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists that hijacked four planes. Three of the four planes hit our nation’s most iconic buildings: the Pentagon, and the World Trade Center towers (3). The last plane was diverted by the passengers and crashed in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were murdered, which provoked the creation of the TSA and the war on terrorism. To ensure safety, the TSA was implemented into over 450 commercial airports in under a year (2). Since the inauguration of the TSA, it is has experienced tremendous change in policy and

Some of these new implementations were enacted because of terrorist threats. The first of these terrorist threats occurred only three months after 9/11. Richard Reid, a British citizen, attempted to detonate explosives that were concealed in a shoe. Reid was able to board the flight from Paris to Miami. On the flight, he failed to ignite the fuse leading into his shoe. After wary passengers saw this occur, he was quickly subdued and tranquilized (4). This invoked panic in the US public and the TSA. To prevent future “shoe bombs”, the TSA implemented a new protocol that required passengers to removed their shoes as they were screened (4). In 2003, all airplanes were required to fortify cockpits. This allowed the cockpit doors to withstand against small arms and explosives (5). Later in 2004, all jackets had to be removed through screening, and guests were banned from going through security (5). Again, in 2006 there was another terrorist plot, but this one involved liquids. Tanvir Hussain plotted to conceal explosive liquids (hydrogen peroxide and other explosive substances) in a soda bottle. Once on the flight he would combine the chemicals to synthesize a bomb. The