Chris, I'm with you. The searches and scanners are an attempt to make it look like they are enhancing security. That's all. Too many stories are out there that show it is still easy to get stuff through the security checkpoints.

The enhanced body search routine is primarily intended to encourage people to go through the scanners. The increased invasiveness is not about enhancing security.

In fact, the increased security at airports actually increases danger. It causes groups of people to be trapped in a non-secure area. From a terrorist point of view, the intent of terrorizing hundreds of people at once is realized just as greatly there.

If we'd take all the money that is being spent on this misguided invasive searching and use it to get better intelligence and provide better responses to that intelligence, we would be able to more effectively stop the bad guys.

The statement has been made often that the most effective security measures in the past decade were the barricaded cockpit doors, and having passengers that will react to any threat on board. The bad guys are now much more limited in what they can accomplish if they do get something onto a plane.