Vol. 74/No. 12 March 29, 2010
Harding, who served in the army for 33 years, is a former head of operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency. In the mid-1990s, he was intelligence director for the United States Southern Command, overseeing espionage operations throughout Latin America. He also commanded the 902nd Military Intelligence Group, an Army counterintelligence organization.
The appointment comes at a time of heightened attention to the quality of government intelligence and transportation security, stated the New York Times, after the attempted bombing on December 25 of a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit from Amsterdam.
Increased government security measures were announced with Hardings nomination. These include more advanced imaging technology scanners that take full body pictures of individuals through clothing. The TSA plans to deploy 450 of these units by the end of the year and another 500 in 2011.
Obamas previous nominee to head the TSA, former FBI agent Erroll Southers, withdrew his name in January amidst disagreement with some senators who thought he would grant collective bargaining rights to the 45,000 airport screeners. Currently, these workers may join unions, but those unions cannot bargain on behalf of them. Harding hasnt stated his position on this question.
Although Harding still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, Republican senator James DeMint issued a statement commending his distinguished career in the Army.
The move to install an army general as head of the TSA fits in with moves by the U.S. rulers over the past decade to give the U.S. military a wider scope for operations within the United States. The William Clinton administration set up the Joint Task Force-Civil Support in October 1999 as a homeland defense command. In 2002 the Pentagon established the U.S. Northern Command.
Prior to this, under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the U.S. armed forces had been barred from domestic operations.
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