Erroll Southers, President Obama’s nominee to head the Transportation Safety Administration, said in a 2008 web interview on terrorism that America is subject to terror attacks because of its alliances with countries like Israel and France. Asked how high the “War on Terror” ranks in America’s priorities, Southers opined:
“Due to connectivity that we have with countries such as Israel, France — countries that are seen by groups, by al Qaeda, as infidels or anti-Islamic — by the true nature of our alliance with them means that we subject to be attacked as well.”
In the interview with VideoJug, which was posted online in April 2008, Southers also said that national security, while it has “some parity” with such issues as Global Warming and education, supersedes them in importance because other government initiatives cannot flourish as long as terrorism remains a serious threat.
“We are very fortunate that we do not live in some of the other places I’ve visited, that have a much higher threat level than we do,” said Southers, a former FBI agent who also served as deputy director of California’s Homeland Security office. “I think however, as we move forward…we are going to have to sit and have a discussion as they’ve had in Great Britain, as they’ve had in France, Israel — they’re the leaders — about where we want to talk about civil liberties and where we want to talk about security. Security is an inconvenience. And where security has been successful, the countries I mentioned, those citizens live with the fact that they’re going to be delayed, that they’re going to be scrutinized, that they’re going to be questioned, but more importantly that they are probably going to be safer.”
Southers’ nomination has been held up in the Senate over two different controversies: his position on the unionization of TSA employees, and allegations that he misled the Senate in confirmation hearings over a decades-old incident in which he misused his government position to access a database and spy on his estranged wife’s boyfriend.
