Airport security at most major ports in the United States is great on the front end, with passenger screening and checkpoints, but on the back end it often is wide open, with nothing more than a "chain-link fence" stopping anyone from getting near aircraft parked on the tarmac. I know this is certainly the case with Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Another vulnerability is found at places like O'Hare International Airport with the parking of "unscreened non-governmental vehicles in the secure side of the airport," which is a problem at airports across the United States.

And we still have the problem of unscreened mail and packages on passenger flights, as well the inability to field an air marshal on all international flights coming into the United States, from places like Europe, Asia and Australia. All these are major security concerns that get little to no attention from the press -- for obvious reasons, perhaps.

But if you have no means to communicate such concerns publicly they often times don't get resolved.

Which is one reason why the Reader Forum venue is so critically important.

Robert Tilford

La Crosse