"The TSA has conducted 8,000 of these security sweeps across the country in the past year alone, TSA chief John Pistole told a Senate committee June 14. They are part of its VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) program, which targets public transit related places.
All of which is enough to make you wonder if we are watching the formation of the â??civilian national security forceâ?? President Obama called for on the campaign trail â??that is just as powerful, just as strong and just as well fundedâ?? as the military.
The VIPR swarm on Wednesday, the TSAâ??s largest so far, was such a shocking display of the agencyâ??s power that it set the blogosphere abuzz.
In a massive flex of muscle most people didnâ??t know the TSA had, the agency led dozens of federal and state law enforcement agencies in a VIPR exercise that covered three states and 5,000 square miles. According to the Marietta Times, the sweep used reconnaissance aircraft and â??multiple airborne assets, including Blackhawk helicopters and fixed wing aircraft as well as waterborne and surface teams.â??
When did the TSA get this powerful? Last year, Pistole told USA Today he wanted to â??take the TSA to the next level,â?? building it into a â??national-security, counterterrorism organization, fully integrated into U.S. government efforts.â??
"The TSA has conducted 8,000 of these security sweeps across the country in the past year alone, TSA chief John Pistole told a Senate committee June 14. They are part of its VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) program, which targets public transit related places.
All of which is enough to make you wonder if we are watching the formation of the â??civilian national security forceâ?? President Obama called for on the campaign trail â??that is just as powerful, just as strong and just as well fundedâ?? as the military.
The VIPR swarm on Wednesday, the TSAâ??s largest so far, was such a shocking display of the agencyâ??s power that it set the blogosphere abuzz.
In a massive flex of muscle most people didnâ??t know the TSA had, the agency led dozens of federal and state law enforcement agencies in a VIPR exercise that covered three states and 5,000 square miles. According to the Marietta Times, the sweep used reconnaissance aircraft and â??multiple airborne assets, including Blackhawk helicopters and fixed wing aircraft as well as waterborne and surface teams.â??
When did the TSA get this powerful? Last year, Pistole told USA Today he wanted to â??take the TSA to the next level,â?? building it into a â??national-security, counterterrorism organization, fully integrated into U.S. government efforts.â??
It’s the boiling frog analogy. Put a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will jump out. Put the frog in normal water and heat it until it’s boiling and it will sit there and die. The heat is slowly being turned up. Question is when are we going to say enough is enough?
[quote]Bonesaw93 wrote:
It’s the boiling frog analogy. Put a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will jump out. Put the frog in normal water and heat it until it’s boiling and it will sit there and die. The heat is slowly being turned up. Question is when are we going to say enough is enough?[/quote]
Actually, frogs are not that stupid.
Humans on the other hand…
Apparently, only frogs that had their brain removed stay in the water.
I am sure there is a quip in there somewhere, but it eludes me at the moment.
[quote]Bonesaw93 wrote:
It’s the boiling frog analogy. Put a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will jump out. Put the frog in normal water and heat it until it’s boiling and it will sit there and die. The heat is slowly being turned up. Question is when are we going to say enough is enough?[/quote]
Actually, frogs are not that stupid.
Humans on the other hand…
Apparently, only frogs that had their brain removed stay in the water.
I am sure there is a quip in there somewhere, but it eludes me at the moment.[/quote]
Hahaha, I didn’t realize that…I’ll have to come up with a better analogy…
