Airline travelers this holiday season have one more thing to think about: whether to pack or carry a thermos bottle or beverage cup.
On one of the busiest travel days of the year, federal officials have alerted travelers to the likelihood of extra scrutiny regarding such items – which could be used to conceal explosive materials.
“Passengers traveling with insulated beverage containers can expect to see additional screening of these items using procedures currently in place, including X-ray screening, physical inspection and the use of explosives trace detection technology,” states an advisory issued Thursday night by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Officials note no specific threat regarding thermos bottles and cups. But the warning to Christmas Eve travelers and others flying on airliners over the winter holidays – 43.6 million people, according to the Air Transport Association of America – comes as part of a broader official effort regarding airport and airline security.
The year has seen a number of specific threats and foiled terrorist attempts, beginning with the “underwear bomber” on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit last Christmas.
Since then, there’s been an attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square, the shipment of explosives hidden in printer toner cartridges on cargo planes bound for the US from Yemen, and several arrests of suspected domestic terrorists as the result of sting operations by the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies.
Most notably, that includes Mohamed Osman Mohamud, arrested recently for allegedly plotting to explode a bomb at the Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Ore., where thousands of families had gathered for the traditional Christmas tree lighting. In October, a Pakistani-born US citizen was arrested on charges of plotting to carry out a coordinated bombing attack on Metrorail stations in suburban Virginia near Washington.
Controversial Personal Security Measures
Travelers already have noted – and many have complained about – increased personal security measures at airports since last year’s Christmas Day airliner bomb attempt by a young Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
In response to terrorist threats, the TSA now gives airline passengers two choices: Get a full-body scan using low-dose radiation that shows a naked image – everything from head to toe. Or refuse the scan and have a TSA official run his or her hands over every part of your body.
At a White House briefing Wednesday, chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan outlined steps taken over the past year to increase security.
Among other things, according to Mr. Brennan, gaps in analysis and data collection have been closed, the criteria used to create terrorist watch lists and “no fly” lists have been revised, some 500 of the controversial “Advanced Imaging Technology” scanning machines for passengers have been deployed at more than 75 US airports, and additional steps have been taken to screen cargo shipped by air (or checked by passengers).
“We are in a much better position today than we were last year at this time,” he said.
Still, authorities are taking no chances when suggestions arise of new means of attack – including the possibility of hiding explosives as part of the insulation in thermoses and beverage cups.
Watch Those Carry-Ons
The new TSA advisory notes that such items are allowed – for now, at least – based on an assessment of risk. The advisory applies to thermoses and cups whether or not they contain any liquids. It also reminds airline passengers that the “3-1-1 rules” for liquids remain in effect for carry-on bags. This states that liquids or gels must be in containers holding no more than 3 ounces; that such containers must be placed in a clear, one-quart zip-lock bag; and that travelers are limited to one such bag apiece.
This latest announcement comes as part of stepped-up efforts to prevent a terrorist attack in the United States during the holiday season.
“We are concerned these terrorists may seek to exploit the likely significant psychological impact of an attack targeting mass gatherings in large metropolitan areas during the 2010 holiday season, which has symbolic importance to many in the United States,” warns a recent bulletin sent to law-enforcement agencies by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.
Of particular concern are public gatherings such as sporting events, parades, and religious or cultural activities.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy