<p>The Department of Homeland Security says the body scans and pat-downs are necessary to keep people safe.<br /><br />"It's all about security," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. "It's all about everyone recognising their role. Terrorists are going to continue to probe the system and try to find a way through," Napolitano said in a media interview.<br /><br />She said as aviation security tightens, "we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime".<br /><br />Her comments were a response to a question about what terrorists would be thinking in the future.<br /><br />She didn't elaborate on what enhanced security at train stations might look like, however trains have already been terrorist targets in England, Russia and Spain, with catastrophic results; just last month, a Pakistani-American was arrested after a thwarted plot to bomb the Washington, D C metro system.<br /><br />So it's somewhat surprising the government took this long to acknowledge our other modes of transport are also at risk.<br /><br />"I think the tighter we get on aviation, we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime," she said.<br /><br />"So what do we need to be doing to strengthen our protections there?" Napolitano's comments came as outrage grows over what some call intrusive X-ray scans and pat-downs that the Transportation Security Administration has used to screen airline passengers.<br /><br />The full-body scanners show a person's contours on a computer in a private room removed from security checkpoints.<br /><br />But critics say they amount to virtual strip searches. Some have complained that the new enhanced pat-downs are humiliating and intrusive, too.</p>
<p>The Department of Homeland Security says the body scans and pat-downs are necessary to keep people safe.<br /><br />"It's all about security," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. "It's all about everyone recognising their role. Terrorists are going to continue to probe the system and try to find a way through," Napolitano said in a media interview.<br /><br />She said as aviation security tightens, "we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime".<br /><br />Her comments were a response to a question about what terrorists would be thinking in the future.<br /><br />She didn't elaborate on what enhanced security at train stations might look like, however trains have already been terrorist targets in England, Russia and Spain, with catastrophic results; just last month, a Pakistani-American was arrested after a thwarted plot to bomb the Washington, D C metro system.<br /><br />So it's somewhat surprising the government took this long to acknowledge our other modes of transport are also at risk.<br /><br />"I think the tighter we get on aviation, we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime," she said.<br /><br />"So what do we need to be doing to strengthen our protections there?" Napolitano's comments came as outrage grows over what some call intrusive X-ray scans and pat-downs that the Transportation Security Administration has used to screen airline passengers.<br /><br />The full-body scanners show a person's contours on a computer in a private room removed from security checkpoints.<br /><br />But critics say they amount to virtual strip searches. Some have complained that the new enhanced pat-downs are humiliating and intrusive, too.</p>