Foolish Aviation
Security Measures are Self-Defeating
"They serve
to make many Muslim travelers who've never had a shred of sympathy for the
fundamentalists feel uncomfortable and even discriminated against - and far
more responsive to their anti-Western discourse of hate."
Fourteen countries have been
penalized because of the failures of U.S. intelligence. The citizens of
thirteen majority Muslim countries will be subject to
more rigorous immigration controls when entering the U.S. The same measure will
apply to nationals from third countries arriving from those nations. In Nigeria
the news caused fresh annoyance. Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation with 146
million inhabitants, half of whom are Muslim with 40 percent Christian, and it
has no history of movements with ties to international terrorist networks. Clearly,
this was precipitated by the attempted December 25 attack against a U.S. flight
between Amsterdam and Detroit. But as has been widely publicized, the attacker's
father had warned the U.S. Embassy about the intentions of Abdul Mutallab, which
is why holding all Nigerians under suspicion is excessive.
Like intelligence tests in
which there is a series of drawings along with one that doesn't fit, it's
the same here. The 14th country is Cuba, which has no known record of
cooperation with jihadism or fundamentalist Islamic
groups. Of those on the list of suspects, Cuba is the only one with a non-Muslim
population. Up to now, Washington has accused Cuba of being involved in
terrorist actions against it. Without further explanation, this measure appears
arbitrary.
As far as banning passengers
from carrying liquids on planes, this too is excessive. On the basis of a
single jihadist cell that considered the possibility of using liquid explosives
in Britain, all liquids were banned from aircraft in the West. Today's
introduction of scanning systems will prove similarly ineffective.
The new devices will be
capable of detecting low-density explosives like Pentaerythritoltetranitrate [PETN]. But the scanners are slow and it will be very
difficult to check every passenger unless they are informed four or five hours
in advance. What will the authorities do then? They will preselect those thought
to be the most likely to carry explosives. A few words to the wise: there will
be even stricter enforcement of ethnic profiling than is practiced today. People
with Arab-looking, brown or black skin and those from the third world will be chosen
for scans. And if someone rejects the procedure? Well,
as I found out in Australia for the sake of carrying a camera, one can miss the
plane. The issue is far more serious and intrusive when it comes to body checks,
which may include physical intrusions into bodily cavities.
Al-Qaeda and its associates
operate under the logic of the terrorist method. Until they observe conditions
conducive to attack, they remain in the shadows disguised as ordinary citizens.
They can strike at any time, anywhere on the planet. This opens the possibility
of gradually extending the blacklist of nations. This is how at the blink of an
eye, insignificant splinter groups can oblige those they call impious to adopt huge
and expensive security procedures. Furthermore, they serve to make many Muslim
travelers who've never had a shred of sympathy for the fundamentalists feel uncomfortable
and even discriminated against - and far more responsive to their anti-Western
discourse of hate.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The fight against al-Qaeda is
primarily political. President Barack Obama understands and his order to close
the unseemly Guantanamo detention faculty is an expression of this. From a
political perspective, it's a delicate balance to ensure security and not
alienating those you seek to protect.
