WASHINGTON – The Transportation Department admits
holes in airport security were “systemic” before and
even in the months after the Sept. 11 hijackings,
according to an inspector general report released
yesterday.
The report contains the findings of an investigation
by Transportation Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead
into allegations made by Bogdan Dzakovic, a former
member of the FAA’s covert security testing unit known
as the Red Team. The team conducted “stings” of
airport security checkpoints by trying to sneak
through bombs and weapons to expose vulnerabilities.
“As noted by Mr. Dzakovic, the Red Team consistently
found and reported high rates of test failure,
reflecting often stark localized and systemic security
vulnerabilities,” Mead said.
“Following Sept. 11, 2001, FAA’s Red Team stood down
and our office was requested by the president and the
secretary, on an interim basis, to conduct similar
covert testing nationwide,” Mead said. “We, too, have
found an alarmingly high incidence of testing
failures, consistent with reports we have issued over
the last several years showing vulnerabilities in
screening of passengers; checked and carry-on baggage,
as well as cargo; access to security areas of
airports; and issuance of and control of airport
identification badges.”
Dzakovic also charged that former FAA supervisors
covered up Red Team findings and warnings to protect
the airlines, which at the time controlled airport
security. He claims they also tipped off airport
managers of undercover tests of CTX bomb-scanning
equipment to help security personnel pass the tests.
He says some of those supervisors have been promoted
in the post-Sept. 11 reorganization.
The newly created Transportation Security
Administration, now part of the Homeland Security
Department, last year took over airport security from
the airlines, and recently started its own covert
testing program.
Although he could not substantiate Dzakovic’s
allegations of cover-up, Mead recommended TSA address
the whistleblower’s concerns by “providing meaningful
feedback to testing team members about actions taken
as a result of their efforts.”
TSA Director James Loy responded to Mead’s findings by
vowing to “completely discard” what he called a
“failed system,” and to make sure that management acts
on covert test results.
However, Dzakovic, despite his experience, has been
excluded from the new covert testing program. Instead,
he complains that he has been assigned to perform
mostly “make-work” at TSA, as WorldNetDaily first
reported early last year.
