U.S. air marshals with dogs are broadening surveillance to land and sea transit facilities this week in highly visible teams, a report said.
Transportation Security Administration documents obtained by the Washington Post say that newly created "Visible Intermodal Protection and Response" teams -- called "Viper" teams -- will take positions in public areas along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Los Angeles rail lines; ferries in Washington state; and mass transit systems in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the Washington Metro system.
A team will consist of two air marshals, one TSA bomb-sniffing-canine team, one or two transportation security inspectors, one local law enforcement officer, and one other TSA employee.
Not everyone is in favor of the expansion, however.
"In one word, this is absurd," said Doug Laird, a security consultant and former head of security for Northwest Airlines. "They don't have enough air marshals to carry out the mission they are supposed to do. To spread them even thinner dilutes the reason they are there in the first place."
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
