One lesson we seem to have learned from the attempted airplane bombing in Detroit is that Islamist terrorists are trying to devise new ways to attack airplanes. Therefore, the security at airports we have employed since 9-11 is now known to be insufficient. What we can next expect is more security measures to detect this latest method involving an explosive powder that was brought onto the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. It is clear that the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of airline passengers are again at high risk. The question is; how do we prevent those lives from being lost?
The first step is that we have to stop playing politically correct word games with who the terrorists are. They are Muslims, not all or even most Muslims to be sure, but the people we need to look out for are Muslims. It is time to stop putting our heads in the sand on that point.
The dilemma is how do we keep terrorists off of airplanes (and out of our countries) without hurting innocent Muslim travelers. There is no easy answer. In this case, the terrorist watch list system did not work. There must be improvements and changes.
Let's take it step by step. First of all, the US and other western countries need to tighten up visa rules. Visa applicants need to be carefully screened at the country of origin-and not just by consular officers. We need specially-trained intelligence or law enforcement personnel to personally interview these people before a visa is granted. I would refer to the El Al example. No airline is more a target of terrorists than Israel's El Al, yet it is arguably the safest in the world. That is because every passenger is interviewed prior to check-in by a specially-trained officer who knows what to look for. That technique should be used both at the visa and plane boarding levels.
Profiling? Yes and no. My old agency, DEA, has engaged in this practice in trying to detect drug smugglers or money couriers at airports. It is not a matter of race. It is more a matter of the circumstances surrounding the person's travel and their behavior that puts them within a certain profile. It can be applied the same way with suspected terrorists. The point is that nations need to train enough people to concentrate at least on major international flights including every trans-Atlantic flight. (Eventually, of course, the terrorists will adjust to that as well.)
Does that mean that people with passports from Muslim nations are going to be subjected to more scrutiny? Of course, and I assume they are now. That is unfortunate and unfair to innocent Muslim travelers, but considering the situation, it is reasonable. I remember when I was still a DEA agent and Colombian and Nigerian (yes, Nigerian) fliers were subjected to extra scrutiny at airports because of the numbers of drug couriers from those countries. A lot of innocent people from those countries were inconvenienced as a result, but it was entirely reasonable.
Recently, I attended a lecture by Nonie Darwish, the apostate writer and speaker who warns us about the threat from radical Islam. She said that if it were in her power, she would stop all immigration from Muslim countries-until the terrorism, Jihad and hatred stops. Again, that penalizes a lot of innocent people, but how many planes full of people must we sacrifice before that measure is considered? At what point do we simply tell people from certain nations that they will not get a visa to come to our country. Will that offend huge numbers of people? Yes. Will that damage diplomatic problems with Muslim countries? Yes. Will that bring the organizations like CAIR and the ACLU out of the woodwork to file lawsuits? Yes.
Let us address those points. First, such a step will not help our image in the Muslim world, but we are hated there anyway, as many moderate Muslims will tell you. Secondly, just how valuable are these nations? They are valuable, and to one extent or another, they are cooperating with us on terror matters, but virtually all of them from Egypt to Saudi Arabia to Pakistan are shaky and duplicitous in their support. They must be made to understand that American lives are the paramount consideration. As for CAIR et al, when it comes to our national security, no foreign national from any country has a constitutional right to enter the US.
In fact, I argue that none of the above steps would be in violation of our Constitution and basic freedoms.
It comes down to this; how many planeloads of American people are we willing to see blow up before we take serious action to keep terrorists off of those planes? There are no easy choices here, but we can do it if we have the will.
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