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Thursday, November 30, 2006

Matching that picture does not make you secure

A researcher who had posted a boarding pass generator on his website has just been exonerated due to a complete lack of evidence of criminal intent. He had posted the feature on his website to emphasize that the ID checks and no-fly lists were ineffective methods of preventing terrorist attacks on airplanes, especially compared to random searches.

His post and the following comments highlight the various issues at stake with airport security and identification checks:
1) No fly lists don't work because suicide bombers only need to get through once and can have a clean record beforehand.
2) ID checks are therefore useless because verifying the identity of a suicide bomber before they commit their terrorist act does not stop it.
3) ID checks do, on the other hand, threaten the rights of Americans to fly without informing the government that they are traveling, as well as adding inconvenience to traveling.
4) There are more effective ways - random searches - to improve airplane security.

As he sums up, the issue is not WHO is on the plane but WHAT is on the plane. Letting a potential terrorist onboard but without his weapon will pretty much guarantee failure. On the other hand, making every traveler show ID or profiling Muslim travelers does very little to ensure security.

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