Professor of International Relations, George Washington University
Professor of Sociology at George Washington University and author of Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy
PROFILE
Amitai Etzioni
Guest
FROM Amitai Etzioni
Which Way, L.A.?
Aviation Security: Must TSA Touch My Junk to Keep Me Safe? New threats to air travel have produced new strategies and technologies against explosives in shoes and carry-on liquids--even in underwear. But some passengers resent the new body-scanners in 68 American airports, and the pat-down hand search is also provoking a backlash. It’s invasive; it’s embarrassing Does it violate the 4th Amendment? Will it really work? Has the Transportation Security Administration gone too far? Is the real key to security the intelligence gathered before anyone gets to the airport?
To the Point
Aviation Security: Must TSA Touch My Junk to Keep Me Safe? New threats to air travel have produced new strategies and technologies against explosives in shoes and carry-on liquids--even in underwear. But some passengers resent the new body-scanners in 68 American airports, and the pat-down hand search is also provoking a backlash. It’s invasive; it’s embarrassing Does it violate the 4th Amendment? Will it really work? Has the Transportation Security Administration gone too far? Is the real key to security the intelligence gathered before anyone gets to the airport?
To the Point
Rethinking the 'War on Terror' Al Qaeda has evolved and adapted, and has committed more terrorist actions since September 11 than it did before. President Bush's "War on Terror" has not been successful. That's according to a study by the RAND Corporation, which has analyzed strategies against terrorist groups from 1968 to 2006. The prestigious Defense Department contractor says there's a better way. Although "intelligence and local police work" is a lot less politically sexy, RAND says it has worked where military action has failed. Is it time to rethink US strategy? In the age of nuclear weapons, is there a third way?
To the Point
London Bomb Scare Raises Profile of CCTV's in the US Less than a week after two car bombs were found and disarmed in London and the subsequent attack on the airport in Glasgow by two men in a flaming car, British police are certain they have the main suspects and have lowered the terror alert from "critical" to "severe." As mainstream Muslims have condemned "extremists," police want to know why several highly educated Muslim doctors would try to kill hundreds of people. One of British law enforcement's resources has been videotape from closed-circuit cameras all over the country, especially in London. Would privacy laws allow the US to adopt that technology? Is it only useful after the fact? Would it encourage a "climate of fear?"
Recommended
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?