U.S. airport security should abandon random checks in favor of stricter searches of people who fit the description of terrorists, said Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (CAS ‘66). On Wednesday, Keating shared his experience with terrorism in Oklahoma as well as his views on U.S. responses to terrorism after Sept. 11.
The United States faces a different world since Sept. 11, Keating said.
“The United States is the sole superpower and is a good and pluralistic society. People don’t like us and there will be other people who want to hurt us,” he said.
Keating said that the government should take several steps to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens, including more stringent checks at airports.
“We should check people that fit a profile of people trying to hurt us. It’s crazy to check a grandmother,” Keating said.
According to Keating, the United States has an inadequate system for conducting background checks and should improve the effectiveness of Immigration and Naturalization Services.
Keating also recommends that the CIA and FBI should share intelligence with each other and with the local governments if there is a threat to a specific area.
Keating became governor of Oklahoma only three months before the attack against the Murray Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people, including 19 children.
“The response was heroic and more efficient than expected,” said Keating. Although more than 300 buildings were damaged, there was not one act of looting, according to Keating.
After the terrorist attacks in both Oklahoma City and New York City, Keating said, local officials personally briefed family members who had lost loved ones. Keating said that he considers direct contact with public officials very important.
“The response is only as good as the media locally, the fire department locally, the police locally,” he said.
The public should be wary of assigning blame for terrorist attacks too quickly, he said, reminding audience members that, after the Oklahoma City bombings, first reports indicated that Muslim extremists were behind the attacks. This turned out to be false.
Keating praised the value of tolerance. “We need to respect other people’s views, religions and backgrounds. Our challenge is to explain to others, whether it be the former Yugoslavia or Northern Ireland, that it is not diminishing to them to tolerate others,” he said.
