Airline safety in the United States and across the world depends to a great extent on our belief that people are watching out for our lives….someplace – by either the Government or at the Airlines.
During the George W. Bush years…they instituted a “No FLY List” of people that worldwide only hit about 4,000 persons. Some even included elected officials, gun toting law abiding private citizens and a few CIA identified leaders of terrorist cells. Even the identified “Possible Terrorist Connections” got a pass. Mom’s, Dad’s, brothers and sisters could all travel with impunity. Remeber when all of Osama Bin Laden’s family members got a free exit pass home right after 911?
Well, in their wisdom….some pundits, some public officials and some law enforcement people are saying that the event on Flight 253 was just an isolated guy that went off the rails. Yeah, he probably just picked up that PETN explosive at “”Duty Free” when he left Lagos, Nigeria. He probably was told not to explode that plastic stuff….until he got to the US by some itinerant Nigerian Immigration officer that had several million dollars in a Swiss Bank he was trying to send to a family member in Detroit.
Should we get serious about this event…..or just say: “Thank you Jaspar Schuringa for saving the lives of 278 passengers on that Airbus 330! Thanks Jaspar for having the wisdom, intelligence and bravery to solve a problem before “The British trained Engineering Student” was able to commit genocide on Holiday Travelers. Thank you Flight Attendants for giving the traveling public a chance to save all those lives. Had this happened with some people we know on board….the chances of that Nigerian ever setting foot on land again…..would have been included with his vision of the 72 Virgins that would be waiting.
It is nice that Homeland Security has made some immediate changes to the Security provisions during this Holiday Season. Yet, this could have been a Nigerian Nightmare of extreme magnitude. How in the world could someone that was identified as a possible Al Qaeda sympathizer be granted Visa entries to several countries and not even be exposed to special personal inspection prior to leaving their native country? Strip seachers have been used for years by the DEA, CIA and FBI when even the hint of Drugs came into question. Here we have a 23 year old plastic explosive rug toting idiot, listed as a possible terrorist and not even stopped with a book of matches!
Our Airline Security is not the only concern in all of this. Virtually, every means of transportation should be considered as a possible means of mass destruction. The Nigerian Nightmare….aboard Flight 253 should be is just a symptom. We need serious revisions of regulations regarding travel in this country. If anyone is listed on any “Terrorist Watch List”….they should be available for full cavity searches by any law enforcement agency…anywhere in the world. And with impunity we may add……24/7 – 365 days a year. They should have extreme travel restrictions put on them and any of their known associates or family members. Let the ACLU stand at the entrance of every airport, train and bus station in the US and display their signs of distain. We will gladly wave and continue to support new Security Measures for those who have been identified with “Terrorist probable cause!”
In the old days……people stuffed bags of cocaine and heroin into plastic bags and shoved them up their rectal orifice. The CIA, DEA and FBI found that stuff..so, the least they can do is the same for high tech explosives!
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