Air transportation security has improved since 9/11 with the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration, the use of better baggage screening technology in many airports around the country and improved security on airplanes themselves. But America still faces too many unnecessary risks in aviation, including a potential repeat of 9/11 where airplanes are turned into weapons of mass destruction. The Bush Administration has made matters worse with its plan to cut the number of federal airport security screeners by 6,000. At the same time, the President plans to outsource another 4,000 airport security positions. Wes Clark has a plan to strengthen air transportation security:

• Invest in more screeners and better technology. Wes Clark will provide effective federal commercial air travel security over the long-term by ending cutbacks to the federal airport security screener program and maintaining this security force as a federal program. He will also improve training programs for both screeners and screener supervisors.
• Require background checks for individuals with access to security-sensitive areas of airports and air operations. Individuals who service commercial airliners are not currently subject to any form of background check. General Clark will require all individuals who have access to commercial airliners and sensitive areas of airports and air operations (such as food service) to have background checks.
• Work to protect airplanes from surface-to-air missiles. Wes Clark supports funding experiments to test alternative approaches to protect airplanes from the danger of surfaceto-air missiles.
• Enhance air cargo security. Only a small fraction of air cargo is currently subject to inspection. Wes Clark will expand the use of non-intrusive inspection systems to greatly increase the percentage of air cargo that is inspected before it is loaded aboard airplanes. In addition to generalized air cargo inspection increases, General Clark will set a goal of 100 percent inspection for all cargo that is loaded aboard commercial passenger airplanes.