Airline Safety: The marshal myth

Given that the government wants the right to eavesdrop on all phone conversations as well as snoop through Internet and bank records, it stands to reason that it would have solid security in one of the places the baddies are likely to show up again: commercial U.S. flights.

And yet, according to CNN, less than 1 percent of commercial flights have a federal air marshal on board. The Transportation Security Administration calls CNN's report "a myth." According to the story, the TSA tells its agents that 5 percent of flights are covered. Staffing levels for the marshals were at a high in 2003, after the TSA beefed up the program (overseen by the Department of Homeland Security) in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. But since then, many have left, leaving big gaps in staffing. Air marshals told CNN that the TSA's 5-percent claim is untrue and that the agency, which this year had a budget of $720 million for air marshals, wants taxpayers kept in the dark. (We called the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to see if CNN's story would result in a review of the air marshal program but didn't hear back.)

Never mind this stuff, or the inept airport screeners who last fall let fake bomb parts through. Everyone knows the only thing that will make us safe is giving up our civil rights.