From: Employee at MILVEHCO (milveh@dslextreme.com)
Date: Wed Aug 10 2005 - 13:48:35 PDT
RE: OT Airport screening - detection of possible terrorist activities.
Profiling really isn't useless, as some here have claimed. But, instead
of calling it profiling and we just called it "statistical probability"
would we still have a problem using it?
Well, that is exactly what we ought to be doing...use a statistically
compiled profile to ID high risk individuals. I say, just run the stats
and let them tell us who we ought to be checking and let all low risk
people be subject to those unproductive "random" searches.
You would be gratified to know that such a two tiered security system
would have worked 100% of the time in identifying a hijacking threat.
This is a no brainer. It's accurate, it works and it's 100% right on and
until terrorist change their MO we ought to at least go with what we do
know about their tactics, because we simply can't be everywhere all the
time; we have to use our resources wisely.
Nobody needs to see guy ride up to the airport on a camel to suspect they
fall into a high risk threat assessment. And eating pork or drinking
Jack Daniels doesn't let them off the hook either. Look, we have a great
tool...it's called a Passport! That gives us a national identity, an age,
a gender and with some luck during a cursory ID review we might also
notice subtle signs that, such as unusual behavior, that will tip us off
to a problem. All this does is give us a reasonable statistical
probability and justification to take this inquiry to the next level.
That sort of sensible use of statistical information will help us make
better decisions how to apply our limited security resources...i.e.
searching a likely target's luggage, shoes, person, etc., instead of
wasting time frisking some elderly white lady from Red Hill, Arkansas or
some soldier on his way to Iraq!
You wouldn't want tell the Israeli's they don't know what they are talking
about when it comes to dealing with terrorism, would you? Well, I know
for a fact the Israeli's would consider anyone NOT using this sort of
"statistical probability" or profiling fairly silly.
It comes down to common sense and unfortunately political correctness
often has little to do with common sense. Your security forces know what
to look for, but a few high level bureaucrats have got in the way over
this profiling flap and that leaves us with a bigger hole in our security
than necessary. Those anti-profiling bureaucrats and those silly people
who encourage them are effectively going to be helping terrorists slip by
our AP screening some day.
Jack
J. Forster
> MV wrote:
>
>> Why would terrorists suck down as much alcohol as possible?
>
> There was a TV news magazine report within the last month or two about an
> even
> more radical branch of Jihadis who drink, eat pork, have no beards, and
> do
> other things which renders profiling essentially useless. Some of the
> 9/11
> hijackers may have been of this type, since I seem to remember reports of
> them
> in a bar on 9/10.
>
> -John
>
>
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