TSA chief says no change in screening policy - The Associated Press

TSA chief says no change in screening policy(AP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Transportation Security Administration on Sunday acknowledged that new full-body scanners and thorough pat-downs can be invasive and uncomfortable, but he said that the need to stay a step ahead of terrorists rules out changes in airport screening procedures.

John Pistole told CNN's "State of the Union" that, despite the public uproar over new screening techniques, "we are not changing the policies" that he said were the best ways of keeping the traveling public safe. TSA screeners, he said, are "the last line of defense" in protecting air travelers.

Pistole's comments came after President Barack Obama on Saturday said he understood people's frustrations and had asked TSA officials whether there's a less intrusive way to screen U.S. airline passengers.

Obama said he had told the agency that "you have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the American people's safety."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she thought "everyone, including our security experts, are looking for ways to diminish the impact on the traveling public." She told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "striking the right balance is what this is about."

However, when asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if she would submit to a pat-down, Clinton responded: "Not if I could avoid it. No. I mean, who would?"

But Pistole stressed that that balance now requires steps to confront "a determined enemy" that has proven adept in devising new ways to conceal weapons. "We know through intelligence there are determined people, terrorists, trying to kill not only Americans but innocent people around the world," he said.

Pistole was shown videos of people being patted down where the screeners touched the breasts of a woman, felt into the pants of another person and felt the crotch of a man. He said all three cases were proper and that the gloves of the screener who felt inside the pants were then tested for explosive trace residue.

A Nigerian man was accused last Christmas of trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a flight from Amsterdam.

"Clearly it's invasive, it's not comfortable," Pistole said, while adding that very few people receive the pat-down. People who go through the new advanced imaging machines available at some 70 airports are usually not subject to pat-downs, he said.

Passengers have also objected to the advanced imaging machines because they produce a virtually naked image of the person's body. The screener, who sits in a different location, does not see the face of the person being screened and does not know the traveler's identity.

"Clearly, if we are to detect terrorists who have proven innovative, creative in the design and implementation of bombs that are going to blow up airplanes and kill people, we have to do something to prevent that," Pistole said.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Awaiting the Next Step on Policy on Gay Service - New York Times

Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court issued a sweeping injunction on Tuesday that called on the military to stop enforcing the policy, and to “suspend and discontinue” any investigations or proceedings to dismiss service members under it.

While the Department of Justice is expected to appeal the decision, department officials would not confirm or deny that an appeal was on the way.

The administration has argued that Congress, not the courts, should change the law, because legislation could provide a more orderly process.

That point was telegraphed in comments delivered on Wednesday by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. In his first public statement since the judge’s ruling, he said changing the policy would have “enormous consequences.”

“I feel very strongly that this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress, and that it is an action that requires careful preparation and a lot of training,” Mr. Gates said as he flew to Brussels for a meeting of NATO ministers.

He noted that the Pentagon was conducting a review of the policy, due in December. “Legislation should be informed by the review that we have under way,” he said.

Questions about President Obama’s response to the court ruling dominated the daily White House briefing with reporters on Wednesday. Mr. Obama has long opposed the policy, yet he now leads the government, which typically appeals to defend laws under challenge.

“The president strongly believes that this policy is unjust, that it is detrimental to our national security, and that it discriminates against those who are willing to die for their country,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary. “And the president strongly believes that it’s time for this policy to end.”

“The bottom line is this is a policy that is going to end,” Mr. Gibbs added. “It’s not whether it will end, but the process by which it will end.”

Opponents of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law anticipated an imminent filing of an appeal.

Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of GetEqual, a civil rights group in Washington for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, said such an action from the government would be “yet another shocking lack of leadership from the White House on issues of equality.”

If the government does appeal, it would probably ask higher courts to keep Judge Phillips’s injunction from taking effect during the appeals process, which could reach the United States Supreme Court.

That is a process that Log Cabin Republicans, the group that brought the suit, is willing to pursue, said Christian A. Berle, the group’s acting executive director.

The group “remains committed to defending this ruling and defending the rights of all service members — in the Ninth Circuit, and to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary.”

At the same time, he said, the group has also asked Congress to repeal the law.

“Log Cabin Republicans prefers whatever solution will end this policy the quickest,” he said.

Thom Shanker contributed reporting from Brussels, and Jackie Calmes from Washington.

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