Well this is certainly an embarrassing diplomatic incident:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed concern Thursday that India’s ambassador to the U.S. was patted down by a TSA agent in Mississippi.
India’s foreign minister called last week’s pat-down of Ambassador Meera Shankar unacceptable. Shankar had attended a conference at Mississippi State University and was catching a flight to Baltimore from Jackson-Evers International Airport.
Witnesses told the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson that Shankar was told she was singled out for additional screening because of her sari, which drapes across the body and is worn by many Indian women.
Clinton told reporters that the State Department was looking into the matter, which she said was under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Department. A Transportation Security Administration spokesman said diplomats were not exempt from searches.
The Indian Embassy spokesman, Virander Paul, said the State Department had offered regrets to the ambassador.
Ridiculous.
