College student embarasses FBI, TSA

Nathaniel Heatwole threatened national security on six separate occasions, introducing… Nathaniel Heatwole threatened national security on six separate occasions, introducing banned materials onto airplanes, keeping records of his activities and sending the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Transportation Security Administration and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge into a tizzy.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ And now a judge has released him on his own recognizance.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Heatwole, 20, is a student at GuilfordCollege in Greensboro, N.C. He planted box cutters, clay intended to look like plastic explosives, matches and bleach in airplane lavatory compartments — then e-mailed federal authorities to report the security breach on Southwest Airlines.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It took five weeks to locate the items.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Aside from the obligatory outrage — five weeks, how could this happen? — it seems that what the TSA and FBI lack is creativity.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Amateur testing of our systems do not show us, in any way, our flaws,’ Deputy TSA administrator Stephen McHale said in an Oct. 20 Associated Press article.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Actually, that’s exactly what Heatwole’s tests showed. As embarrassing as this is for national agencies, it reveals that the biggest flaw in security is not even tangible — it’s their unwillingness to be flexible.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Each time someone breaches national security, these agencies react — and thus no one can violate security in the same way.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Instead of being reactive, why doesn’t Homeland Security become active and recruit innovative thinkers to do what they clearly cannot — conceive outlandish, but possible, scenarios and determine how to prevent them.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ What Heatwole did was not even that creative, but he did introduce a new variable in the effort to keep airlines safe. Apparently, people can leave objects — bleach, box cutters and, perhaps, bomb components — on planes indefinitely. Instead of trying to prevent one person from boarding a plane with something deemed hazardous, security agencies should now look for people at different airports, trying to coordinate schemes. Shouldn’t that have been one of their scenarios?

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ And shouldn’t the airlines sweep the planes every so often? Shouldn’t dangerous materials be removed and reported, and not be allowed to languish for five weeks?

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ What Heatwole did was cocky, but necessary. If public embarrassment is required for Ridge to act, then so be it. Public embarrassment is preferable to tragedy, and Heatwole showed the potential for such tragedy. If only the authorities had responded well.