say, we all just need to take a deep breath and i'm talking to superman because i know clark kent has had enough of those jokes. a good morning, please answer if you can. guest: the first time as to anybody made the connection. on the first question, cruise ships, the measures that i am talking about really only applies to aviation. there is considerable scrutiny of cruise ship passengers, but this applies only to aviation security. it in terms of whether these measures apply in the united states, the relief focused largely on passengers coming to the united states from abroad. .

jo we really haven't focused on it. we all know if there were a massive transit attack tomorrow. tsa is just that, it's also in charge of surface transportation security. on friday, they called for a

strategy we are still digesting. it calls for better information sharing. a lot more needs to be done. i hope it will be done before there's a successful attack on mass transit. host: a call on the line. caller: i'd like to know how many israelis are on your no fly list because of dubai. it seems like israel is the number one terrorist nation on the planet. host: are there more than just suspected arab terrorists? are there folks from israeli on that list? guest: there could be. that list is highly classified. the list includes people in the united states and from all over the world who there is reason to believe post a threat to

aviation. the key is whether they post a threat to aviation. >> if an american ends up on the no fly list, how do you get off? >> there is a redress procedure. you can apply to prove that you are not the person they think you are. part of that redress procedure needs work. it's very, very difficult, everyone says to actually get off the list and be able to convince the government. part of the problem is that these lists are name based. there are a lot of people with the same or similar names around the world. that's particularly true in the arab, muss lynn world. we need going forward a list with full names. they need to be biometric going forward. that's the direction we are moving forward in.

>> the future of the no fly list includes this new intelligence information that's going to be these fragments not just based on name? >> really what we are talking about today has been applied to the secondary list. therein tensive scruntity. that really goes to the list as opposed to the no fly list. if there's reason to believe you should not fly at all, that's a different matter. host: going to the phones again caller: good morning. you keep bringing up the christmas day bomber and 9/11 as an excuse for all of this increased security. what you keep on leaving out --

this is documented. what you leave out is the fact that the state department helped the bomber get on board. the sharp dress $man was actually a u.s. agent. you fail to leave out that there was another man filming the christmas day bomber on the plane. you leave out the second man arrested that day on the plane. that the f.b.i. changed the story five times. you fail to leave out about 9/11 that it wasn't just planes but thermite found in the debris. that's a high-grade military explosive. they estimate ten tons were in the buildings. host: you put a lot out there. guest: it's difficult to start. i would say that this is another example of conspiracy

theories. ever since 9/11, there have been many theories claiming that the united states government was involved. that's the claim that the caller is making here and of course that's ridiculous. host: you must have heard a great deal of these theories about 9/11 and other things. how are they handled inside the department? guest: they were kept in perspective. dismissed as ridiculous allegations. and that this kind of notion that the government is behind these kind of things is really interesting. the plot we saw with the person flying the airport into austin and in minnesota. there's a climate, this anti-government furvor we see is of a real concern. i hope all americans, if

there's legitimate disagreements but this con pirsi theory can have damaging consequences. host: we are talking about new security measures put into place on friday for people coming into the united states. on sunday, michael chertoff talked about his reaction to the new procedures. let's take a look. >> what this does is take a technique we have used at the border the last two or three years so that it push it's out so that it applies when people board planes overseas. it has worked excemptionally well when people arive from the airport. the idea of pushing it out before people board makes a lot of sense. the issue here is where will our allies be willing to

implement the plane the way we lay it out. it will be a win-win for everybody. what's the early read on how this will play out? we are more able to get the plot like this now. it really concentrates not just america's mind but the international security there seems to be an merging consensus to get serious about these kinds of steps. host: up early in hawaii is mike on the republican line go ahead. caller: i am a disabled combat

veteran. i travel frequency around the world. i go to nigeria quite often. i've been stopped extensively. i have multimetal parts in my body. i have been held many times for over six or seven hours to go to nigeria or come back. is there any way around that? i have a purple heart. i fight for this country. i believe in it. we need to do some things better. i'm jewish. how for those of us who do serve do we get around a seven-hour head -- hold? >> you have been held for serve

hours? caller: yes. i was held at the passport office. they misspelled my name by one letter. going forward, if there's a specific issue. the fact that he travels back and forth to nigeria and has metal in his body.

the "new york times" on saturday had a piece about the plan going into affect. still some thoughts guest: the term profiling is really loaded to me, this is as far away from profiling as we can get. >> it seems to me we can improve on what we've done in the way of this system. host: next up from miami. caller: i noticed executive order would be the best route for president obama to render

to this country. the path of the social conservatives have dug like a nail into what we are trying to do worldwide. we are on target. we can't survive the tactics of the third world mentalities implement when they send bombers into the country. it's not like the u.s. is involved. i think we put those out.

you are on target. i would like for you to tell us what the latest is coming down the tubas far as executive order versus the hold back and lay overs of the president. host: thank you. guest: i don't quite follow that question. host: he may be talking about the appointments. guest: i have not heard that the president has a third

choice ready. if i were the administration, given the urgency, i would give her name. tom ridge had to wait in airport lines. why such and i mossity toward tsa? guest: i would argue, they are one of the few agencies that every american touches on an ongoing basis depending on how frequently you fly many

americans have a direct interaction with that agency. often screeners are rude. to be fair, it's a very, very tough job and travelers are rude to them. the combination and hassle. all of these have given tsa a black eye. it's another reason we need a confirmed leader in place. caller: what was your background in regards to being appointed to the job you had in tsa? since you only spent one year there, what would have been the reason for leaving? guest: first, my background to be the inspector general, i was

the inspector general in the bush administration. though i was confirmed to the job, i was never confirmed to the job of department of homeland security because of option of the charme and the ranking member at the time. they had a disagreement with me. my position was i didn't have jurisdiction to investigate. their position was this i did. that's the reason i was never confirmed. host: were you a recess appointee? guest: i was. that enabled me to serve fot for one year but for two. host: clark kent iffering currently serving on the commission of contracting in iraq and afghanistan. going to james on the republican line from texas. caller: the prior caller about

israel. you can easily see that. the christmas day bomber. the bin laden tape we never talk about. why do you keep cutting people off. it's ridiculous. go to neocon.com for more. host: going to the phone for more. caller: i want to make a statement and tell you where you can go and see evidence that my statement is true. talking about being appointed. here's my statement. i've been called in since march 2003 to make this statement. i have been appointed by god to be a watchman and speak as a watchman -- host: let's go to our

independent line. go ahead. caller: i remember quite clear on 9/11, i had come back from canada. fox new has a break in and had spotted a van claiming to be with israelis in it. i did my home work and went in and saw a video where on israeli tv with kids filming. they asked why they were there. how did they know about that? i was occur youse. i was something is done with the new jersey case as well. it's crazy and sad. host: next up from florida. go ahead.

caller: a couple of quick comments and i'll ask your opinion on the situation. in portland, maine, there's a light somalian population. you have a lot of independent cabdrivers who are somalians who deliver people right up to the curb. they are all independent. i feel sorry for those who have immigrated here and left a terrible situation in their own country. when i am in miami, i see a complete disconnect. i have been in situations where i have been standing on the curb watching terrible things going on.

lack of policemen, cars parked longer than they should be. i have experienced with airlines where there is a disconnect. i can only question how good is the tsa if the may yors and airport authorities aren't interfacing enough with you that you could be effective. there seems to be a disconnect between what you are doing and what the city's are doing. there are examples we need to have strict security in smaller

airports as we do in the larger any of these transit points might ultimately the center of a terror attack over the past couple of years, you take off your shoes, you don't. you put things in a bag, you don't. you find there are various procedures depending on whether it's a big or small airport. we know terrorists are constantly probing the system for weeknesses.

betty thompson is chairman of homeland security complaining a bit that they weren't briefed in advance. guest: that's a very, very big topic. chairman thompson has had a number of issues. he has charged he wasn't given briefings in advance of major roll outs like this.

as the name implies it has the most expansive jurisdiction. host: former ib tell against commissioner in the house yesterday talking about the new procedures in place for in bound travel to the u.s. >> if i could add to that, after the christmas bomb plot we targeted 14 countries. that was a message to those countries that was the wrong message. our homeland security secretary who has ablely succeeded michael chertoff has traveled

extensively. it is an intelligence based screening rather than a name based screening system. this is the way we will capture folks that don't fit the stereo type of a muslim male between 20-40. they are not even all muslim. i resent the fact that jihad jane took my name. that wasn't her given name. they come from all over the world. going forward, we are going to do something much more effective.

guest: the cia, f.b.i., national security agency parts of the department of homeland security. tsa does. there's an intelligence unit. in theory, automatic of these will be brought together before people board airports which ought to happen. >> next up, darryl on our democrat line. >> good morning. my question is regarding the national i.d. if you are under 44, i believe have you to have that i.d. by 2014. if you are over 44, i believe you have to have it by 2017.

i'm 48. from what i understand, it should contain built in dna. what i'm seeing or what i feel is the next step after the national i.d. card, you have all of these events like 9/11. you have these events that happen in the united states and around the world. the next major pearl harbor so to speak -- where are we going to go next? from the national i.d. card? host: let's hear what mr. irvin has to say? guest: i think he is talking about the real i.d. act. this is a leg vacation that would require the standardization. a whole wide range of different

identification was used in the past. you really can't expect transportation screening officer to be familiar with all those different kinds. there's been considerable option. it's a work in progress moving toward this. would a passport fit that bill? certainlyly, passports have been introduced. what we really need to do is have identification to make sure people are in fact who they say they are. host: to the phone lines. caller: good morning. it's not really to do with flying airports. i guess that's the real spot light today. i'm putting my family on an airport in another month for vacation. host: are you heading overseas?

caller: no just flying domestically. always get a little nervous there. i little in a rural area. there's a lot of fertilizer producing and distribution centers where i live and trains and so on. what kind of -- or who oversees that? i could drive right up with a pickup truck and buy a couple hundred pounds of phosphates and deeze ill oil and do a number. and all of this paraanya and anti-sematis demnch is just like horse man ue. but answer the question about the phosphates. guest: that's a good point.

we the government need to do a better job to coordinate the efforts. host: you moved on to a new commission with wartime contracting. what can you tell us about where the commission is on their findings and what's the deadline for a report? guest: the purpose of this commission which was said up during the bush commission, the commissioners are half democrats, half republicans is to look at the warsnd issue security. our final report is due next summer. we have had a number of hearings that will continue. a lot of theater travel to iraq and afghanistan.