Transportation Security Administration (TSA) protects the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The TSA has been responsible for over 9,000 unannounced “security checkpoints” over the last year alone, as the federal agency’s VIPR program expands to become a literal occupying army in the name of safety.
“The TSA’s 25 “viper” teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams next year,” reports the L.A. Times.
The figure is completely independent from the federal agency’s role inside the nation’s airports, which costs taxpayers $5 billion a year, with the department having spent an additional $110 million in fiscal year 2011 for “surface transportation security,” while requesting a further $24 million for next year.
The extra money is being demanded despite the fact that there is “no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety,” according to the report, which also highlights how the TSA’s sniffer dogs are used to single out people for questioning if the dog smells the scent of the owner’s pets on their clothing.
The TSA is being used as a literal occupying army to ensure Americans who travel anywhere are constantly under the scrutiny of Big Brother, from highways, to train & bus stations, to NASCAR events, and even high school prom nights.
Back in October we reported on how Tennessee’s Homeland Security Commissioner announced that a raft of new “security checkpoints” would be in place over the Halloween period to “keep roadways safe for trick-or-treaters”.
Earlier that same month it was announced that Transportation Security Administration officials would be manning highway checkpoints in Tennessee targeting truck drivers.
After public outrage, the TSA attempted to neutralize the controversy by claiming that the inspections were carried out by State Troopers (the TSA agents were there to try to recruit truck drivers into becoming snitches for the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign), and that the checkpoints were merely temporary.
In reality, the program was the latest phase of the TSA’s rapidly expanding VIPR program, under which TSA agents have been deployed to shake down Americans at everywhere from bus depots, to ferry terminals, to train stations, in one instance conducting pat downs of passengers, including children, who had already completed their journey when arriving in Savannah.
(NaturalNews) When the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced last year that it would soon begin setting up security checkpoints in places other than just airports, it definitely was not joking. News Channel 5 in Nashville, Tenn., has announced that Tennessee is the official inaugural state for the launch of TSA's new Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program, which will be setting up security checkpoints along interstates to conduct random (illegal) searches of vehicles.
TSA set up one of its first VIPR checkpoints in Tampa, Fla., last December after announcing to the world its plans to expand illegal searches to all aspects of American life. Presumably a test to see how the public would respond. VIPR teams groped and patted down passengers at a local Greyhound bus station, and they even brought in sniff dogs to add an extra layer of intimidation.
Later on during the summer of 2011, TSA announced again its plans to search innocent Americans at train stations, bus stops, and truck stops. At that time, TSA requested 12 more units to add to its fleet of VIPR teams, most of which had still not necessarily been deployed (http://www.naturalnews.com/032778_TSA_groping.html).
Just a few months after that, the National Football League (NFL) announced that it would be implementing TSA VIPR checkpoints at all 32 NFL stadiums across the country. The procedures at these checkpoints subjected football fans to full-body pat downs similar to what air travelers face at US airports.
And now an entire state has succumbed to the encroachment of the illegitimate US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its unlawful violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Amendments to the US Constitution. VIPR teams have already been deployed to five truck weigh stations and two bus stations across Tennessee, with more soon to come.
Random security checkpoints, perpetual paranoia about terrorists around every corner, a rogue government that is pressing citizens to spy on each other and report their activities to authorities -- these are all protocols that took effect in Nazi Germany during the rise of Hitler, and they are all protocols that are now in effect in the US today. Think about it.
By Adam Ghassemi
PORTLAND, Tenn. – You're probably used to seeing TSA's signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
"Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate," said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.
Agents are recruiting truck drivers, like Rudy Gonzales, into the First Observer Highway Security Program to say something if they see something.
"Not only truck drivers, but cars, everybody should be aware of what's going on, on the road," said Gonzales.
It's all meant to urge every driver to call authorities if they see something suspicious.
"Somebody sees something somewhere and we want them to be responsible citizens, report that and let us work it through our processes to abate the concern that they had when they saw something suspicious," said Paul Armes, TSA Federal Security Director for Nashville International Airport.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol checked trucks at the weigh station with drug and bomb sniffing dogs during random inspections.
"The bottom line is this: if you see something suspicious say something about it," Gibbons said Tuesday.
The random inspections really aren't any more thorough than normal, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott who says paying attention to details can make a difference. Trott pointed out it was an Oklahoma state trooper who stopped Timothy McVeigh for not having a license plate after the Oklahoma City bombing in the early 1990s.
Tuesday's statewide "VIPR" operation isn't in response to any particular threat, according to officials.
Armes said intelligence indicates law enforcement should focus on the highways as well as the airports.
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