WHO SAYS OSAMA BIN LADEN DIDN’T WIN THE WAR?

WHO SAYS OSAMA BIN LADEN DIDN’T WIN THE WAR?  JUST LOOK AT THE FALLOUT FROM HIS SPENDING NO MORE THAN $20,000 TO HIJACK THREE PLANES AND CRASH TWO OF THEM INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ON 9-11-01.

This week and next week I’ll give you some simple statistics on the financial costs of Osama bin Laden’s single attack on the U.S.  First let’s look at the TSA and what its mission is.

The Transportation Security Act (TSA, or those who drive you crazy at the airport) was created on November 19, 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks, when the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was passed by the 107th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush.  It was given three major mandates:

•  responsibility for security for all modes of transportation;

•  recruit, assess, hire, train, and deploy Security Officers for 450 commercial

   airports from Guam to Alaska in 12 months; and,

•  provide 100 percent screening of all checked luggage for explosives by

   December 31, 2002.

BY THE END OF 2002, TSA HAD HIRED, TRAINED, AND DEPLOYED NEARLY 60,000 EMPLOYEES.  ITS OPERATING BUDGET for 2002 was $1.3 billion.  This included doctors, lawyers, business owners, veterans, recent graduates, retirees, and countless other groups of Americans who together assumed responsibility for security at over 400 of the nation’s airports. THIS EFFORT CONSTITUTED THE LARGEST MOBILIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SINCE WWII.

In March 2003, the TSA transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security that was created on November 25, 2002 by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, unifying the nation's response to threats to the homeland.