Report: Anonymity of Air Marshals at Risk

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060520/ap_on_go_co/air_marshals

WASHINGTON - More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week.

The draft report, "Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security," cites the service's dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.

In practice, the report found, "many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings."

The report by the House Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press on Friday night, identified several policies by the service that the report concluded undercut the goal of preserving the marshals' anonymity.

The report also faults the service for requiring marshals to stay at designated hotels and show their credentials upon checking in. It said that in one instance, the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel in Florida designated the service "company of the month" because of the number of rooms it had reserved at the hotel.

The Marshalls have to wear a coat and tie, go in through the exits at security checkpoints, show their credentials at the gate, board first -- all stuff that makes them stand out rather than blend in. Kind of defeats the purpose. As one guy (who knows he'll now be fired) pointed out, anyone wanting to cause chaos aboard a plane knows exactly who they'll have to take down first.

It's like watching a re-run of Dragnet. Two guys, short cropped hair, dressed in dark suits, flashing badges to TSA after walking through the exit-only gate. Yeah, they do stick out like a sore thumb. I couldn't believe it. Undercover IS supposed to blend in.

Of course, it's probably not meant to stop anything but merely give the public a "feel good".