Saturday, December 11, 2010

That's some "Smart" Diplomacy, right there

India objects to TSA pat down of Ambassador to US:

India's foreign minister said Thursday it was unacceptable that the country's ambassador to the United States was patted down by a security agent at a Mississippi airport, and said he would complain to Washington.

The ambassador, Meera Shankar, was returning from giving a speech at Mississippi State University last week when she was pulled out of line at the airport and given a pat down by a female Transportation Security Administration agent.
Smart.  Good think we don't have some yokel from Texas running things, or something might go wrong.

It really doesn't need to be stated, but one of the traditional causes for war was the violation of the person of an Ambassador.  Ambassador Shankar was traveling under diplomatic immunity, as befits her station, with appropriate documentation, and accompanied by the Mississippi Governor's staff.

Smart.  The TSA is causing diplomatic incidents.  Again.  Last year, they made the Indian President take his shoes off before boarding a flight for a State Visit.  Their comment?  We didn't do anything wrong:
The TSA maintained that it followed guidelines in the search of Shankar.
Hey, why not search the Diplomatic Pouch for contraband, while you're at it?  The punchline?  This isn't the first time this year that she's got the full grope treatment.
Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said this was the second time the ambassador had been singled out for a pat down in the past three months.

"Let me be very frank that this is unacceptable to India," he said. "We are going to take it up with the government of United States, and I hope that things could be resolved so that such unpleasant incidents do not recur."

A TSA spokesman said diplomats were not exempt from the searches, and that bulky clothing could prompt a pat down.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters Thursday that the State Department is looking into the matter and is trying to determine what can be done to prevent such incidents in the future.
And as a public service to the Republic, let me offer an approach to Secretary Clinton, one that  is guaranteed to prevent this sort of incident in the future.  Defund the TSA.

Idiots.

3 comments:

genedunn said...

Clearly it was consular ship... on a diplomatic mission. There was the ambassador!

NotClauswitz said...

Them TSA'ers don' know nuthin' about no Diplomatic Immunity?
In fact Diplomats ARE exempt from such searches.

word: denst - them's denst' as kin be.

Anonymous said...

Why?....Why was a high uppity muck a muck flying coach?

Why didn't she fly in a private plane....or a military flight!?!?

Or why didn't she have at least a private boarding area?

I mean she IS part of the intelligensia ruling elite...why fly with the unwashed masses?

Steve