June 23, 2006
The best piece of news I've heard in nearly five years of waging war on terror came not from the Middle East but from Washington. Norman Mineta is stepping down as Transportation Secretary, and not a moment too soon. I hold Norm Mineta at least partially responsible for 3,000 deaths on September 11. Why? Because Mineta was the one who created a climate of political correctness at our nation's airports prior to the attacks. Unfortunately, that climate has not changed and another attack is inevitable because of the security breach caused by Mineta's refusal to criminally profile.
To understand Norm Mineta, a former Democratic congressman, you must understand his background. Mineta and his family were part of the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were forced into internment camps during World War II. That experience has colored his judgment ever since. He has been overly sensitive to profiling of any kind; even criminal profiling that has been used successfully by law enforcement for centuries to catch the bad guys.
When he became transportation secretary under the newly elected George Bush he immediately banned any kind of profiling at our nation's airports. This in spite of overwhelming evidence that Arab terrorists planned to hijack airplanes in the United States. We knew the profile of the terrorists young, Arab, Muslim males yet airline employees were told to ignore their gut feelings and stick to the orders of random searches which meant pulling little old ladies out of line to be searched while those fitting the criminal profile of the hijackers were waved through.
Michael Touhey was one such ticket agent who fought his inner feelings on September 11 th . When he encountered Mohammed Atta in Portland, Maine on the morning of 9/11, his blood ran cold. He could tell just by looking at Atta and his accomplice that he was looking at Arab terrorists. However, he succumbed to Mineta's political correctness. I gave myself a mental slap, he said. In over 34 years, I had checked in thousands of Arab travelers, and I never thought this before. I said to myself, 'That's not nice to think. They are just two Arab businessmen.
Two Arab businessmen, indeed. Had Touhey been allowed to follow his gut instincts the 9/11 attacks probably would never have been carried out but because of Mineta's political correctness, 3,000 people died that day.
What's more astonishing is Mineta was allowed to remain on the job for almost 5 more years. In the days since 9/11, American, United, Continental and Delta airlines have been fined millions of dollars by the Department of Transportation for using race, gender, ethnicity, religion or appearance to screen passengers.
Mineta's parting will hopefully make way for someone with some sense when it comes to security matters but I'm not holding my breath. The fact that he was allowed to keep his position after 9/11 is inconceivable yet the Bush administration seemed quite happy with his work. We won't know for months, perhaps years, the damage done by Mineta. The only saving grace is the airport screeners were taken from the Transportation Department's authority some time ago and placed under Homeland Security. But, the standards for airline employees are still dictated by Transportation.
Only time will tell just how much damage Norman Mineta has done to this country. We do know that he is at least partially responsible for the deaths of 3,000 people. If he didn't have the good sense to protect those people we can only hope that President Bush will appoint someone with the judgment to protect us from the legacy of Norm Mineta.