The Backscatter X-ray and the Right to Privacy: The 9/11 Aftermath - Research Paper Example

September 22, 2001, was when the world seemed to have stood still. The world remained glued to their television screens as they watched the drama unfold with every brick and piece of alabaster cement falling well into the rubble of what was later to be known as “ground zero.” People all over the globe waited in nervous anticipation of what other disaster awaits the American nation. At the end of the day, several structures lay on the ground, various properties collapsed, hundreds of lives were lost and a malevolent group reigned supreme. All in the quest for supremacy.

A decade after 9/11, the world is still struggling to piece together what has transpired on that fateful day. Ten years may have come and gone, yet the consequences of that singular event have forever changed the outcome of human civilization (Mitcherner-Nissen, Bowers and Chetty, 2011).

The 9/11 terrorist attacks have invariably led to the tightening of security measures being undertaken all over the world. In the United States, legislative enactments have been undertaken to place security administration and defense management among the considerations to be deemed as state priorities (Mitcherner-Nissen, Bowers, and Chetty, 2011). The operation of the airport has been taken over by the federal government following clear indications that there have been significant lapses in judgment and laxity of control in airport management which have exacerbated the 9/11 attacks (Parks, 2007). As a result, the United States government took over the helm of the battle against terrorism and called for the support of all nations in the international arena (Parks, 2007).

Patankar and Holscher (2000) described the airport as a highly complex set of schematic organizations that allows the entry and egress of persons. As such, both movements to and fro are to be considered security concerns that require efficient administration. To this end, it is vital to determine the momentous changes that US airports may have undergone in hopes of revolutionizing their operation and precluding the occurrence of an attack comparable to the 9/11 terrorist activities.

Prior to 9/11, the airport situation in the United States has been a highly efficient private affair that revolves around the rendering of services related to and relevant to the air transport of individuals from a point of origin into a point of destination. Prior to 9/11, there was a general sub-optimal level of security in airports in US airports (Seidenstat, 2004). However, after the attacks, the United States government saw the need to change the management of the airport facilities to the federal system marking the transition of the said facility from the implementation of transportation into a tool that has the capacity to paralyze the country (Seidenstat, 2004).

The transition of the airport facility into the hands of the federal government was triggered by two major issues (Seidenstat, 2004). These are: (1) the laxity of the control measures implemented by the utilization of private security firms; (2) the failure of the government to monitor the performance of said private entities; (3) the relative poor financial capability of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that restricted its movement and initiatives; and (4) the oversight on the part of the FAA as another major factor that led to the occurrence of the terrorist attacks (Seidenstat, 2004).