Explosives made it past TSA 95 percent of the time in DHS tests

A new report has found that Transportation Security Administration security fails to detect bombs and explosive materials 95 percent of the time at airports where Homeland Security has conducted dry runs.

The Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, a result of an internal DHS investigation, revealed that “undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials,” according to ABC News, which first broke the story.

DHS officers posed as passengers at a number of major U.S. airports, succeeding 67 out of 70 times in smuggling bomb materials through TSA checkpoints. “In one test an undercover agent was stopped after setting off an alarm at a magnetometer, but TSA screeners failed to detect a fake explosive device that was taped to his back during a follow-on pat down,” ABC reported.

The revelation got acting TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway reassigned, and left DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson grasping for an appropriate way to spin the results.

In a statement Monday, Johnson said the results of “these reports never look good out of context, but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security. We take these findings very seriously in our continued effort to test, measure and enhance our capabilities and techniques as threats evolve.”

Surely he can’t be talking about TSA’s capabilities to detect security threats. Maybe Johnson’s simply talking about the agency’s capability to detect passengers’ dignity, or simply their private parts.

The Obama administration on Monday turned criticism of the TSA’s ineffectual operation back on Congress, blaming lawmakers for failing to confirm Adm. Peter Neffenger as permanent director.

“We would have more confidence if we could have a more permanent, Senate-confirmed director on the job,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “We would like to see Congress act more quickly to confirm him.”

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