STUPID AIRPORT SECURITY

The list was to demonstrate that most terrorist attacks against the U.S. in recent times have been committed by persons of Middle Eastern ethnicity or descent including those involving airplanes. It was to provide justification for profiling in the interest of providing better security for everybody including persons of Middle Eastern ethnicity or descent.

It was not intended to suggest that there are not gong to be isolated nutcases out there, but with the exception of Richard Reid who almost succeeded without profiling going on, the others were not associated with organized groups. They also are very rare while Islamic terrorist attacks occur on a daily basis. I can see the difference. I think it should be obvious to everybody.

Well I didn't see it as a double standard all, especially since I specifically referenced the airline incidents on the list, Drewdad, but I accept that you do.

And why are you on the left so interested to make this discussion about me and my sins rather than the topic of the discussion? Drewdad? Revel?

OE's point, which I think you missed completely, is that nutjobs present a non-trivial threat to the flying public.

Just because there is a large visible threat does not mean that one should focus all attention on that.

What would you like me to admit? This same issue was raised on the first and second pages of the thread and I acknowledged it then, but asked that we focus on airport security. I didn't want to include the mail bombs and car bombs and snipers and the OKC bombing in this thread. Also one of the initial points made was the need to get past our political correctness fetish and be willing to do some profiling.

Would it have been better if I had just included airline incidents on the list? Or would I then still be dealing with accusations about double standard PLUS intentionally avoiding all the other ways terroist attacks can be done?

And why are you on the left so interested to make this discussion about me and my sins rather than the topic of the discussion? Are you out of ideas of how airport security might be improved or how the ideas already suggested won't work? Any ideas on how efficiency and effectiveness can be accomplished ast the same time Drewdad? Revel?

Have I indicated that I thought the nutjobs to be trivial? What did I say to give that impression? I did say the nutjobs are rare while the Islamic terrorist attacks are daily. One statement does not negate the other.

I also pointed out that Richard Reid made it onto an airplane with a bomb when profiling was not being implemented. We learned from that incident how to prevent it from happening in that way again.

But short of strip searching every passenger, how do you propose that we catch the nutjobs who fit no profile? Is normal security enough? You can't profile for the nutjobs because there is no profile.

You can profile the group that has pledged to destroy us.

To those who suggest the terrorists won't try to commit terrorism by airplane again because that has already been done, how do you figure that given their propensity to do what has worked for them in the past again and again and again?

i don't think this had anything to do with the flightschool operators being "naive". they were either unbelievably stupid - in which case they should not have been licensed as a flightschool - or they didn't really care why anyone would take the kind of flighttraining requested - which to me indicates that they just wanted to collect the money for the training, also called GREED, i believe.