Transportation Security Aggravation.

• Author: Durr, William J.
• Position: Letters - Letter to the Editor

Even (or especially?) among experts, such as Robert W. Poole Jr. and Jim Harper ("Transportation Security Aggravation," March), there seems to be confusion about the 9/11 airline security problems.

The worst was the non-confrontation policy favored by the airlines, seconded by the Federal Aviation Administration, and followed by disarmed passengers and air crews--the root cause of which was the elitist, leave-it-to-the-police attitude that has been fostered in the population for a couple of generations now. The hijackers knew that even if an armed federal agent were aboard, policy would stay his or her hand as long as it was believed to be an ordinary hijacking. (The terrorists went to considerable trouble to reassure the passengers.)

Considering the roadblocks thrown up against...