If Bush had put a few more dollars into the FBI instead of spending billions to stop a missile that might never come we might not be in this mess right now.
clayton_e, give it a rest. Bush hasn’t spent a federal dime yet on anything. The current budget is the Clinton 2001 budget, which ends this month. Got it? Also, assume for a moment that Osama bin Laden is indeed behind these latest terrorist attacks. How long do you think he spent planning this? Starting in 1993, when the first bombing of the WTC took place? Possibly. Earlier? Maybe. So…who was president from then until January 2001? Why, it was Bill Clinton! Amazing! And just what has been done since then to provide security from terrorism? Well, what we’re finding is, we didn’t do enough. And I do mean ‘we’. This didn’t happen overnight, it didn’t happen on just one president’s watch, and you’re sadly mistaken if you think otherwise.
Regarding MDS; has it occurred to you at all, that a missle defense system could also be designed to shoot down aircraft? Although we lost transponder info on at least some of the aircraft, we still had radar. It isn’t too farfetched to presume this info would be sufficient to guide defensive missiles in response. Please. Keep your comments constructive, and stop pointing the fickle finger of blame. It helps no one.
Do you really think any president would ever consider shooting down 4 airliners full of passangers, with very little notice, or time to decide. Even if he had the remotest idea of what their aim was ?
Its not as though anyone knew in advance that the planes were going to do. So to suggest shooting down a plane that, as far as you knew, would turn into just another hostage situation, is a little far-feched.
I do not believe this could have been prevented had existing measures been enforced 100%.
I will campaign all over these boards: change nothing, but add Air Marshalls. Though I did hear a good idea about giving the pilot access to a sleeping gas activator, and to have, then, sealable cockpit doors. But, no, I think plainclothes air Marshalls are the best bet.
I am a frequent flyer and I travel all over the world. I have been spot checked in Heathrow Airport for micro chemical testing. I asked them what they were looking for and they told me that if I had been near ingredients to produce bombs in the past 24 hours, they would know.
I have had a tiny Swiss Army knife confiscated at Tokyo. I had to prove that my laptop operated properly at Frankfurt. I had to throw away matches in Sydney and Beijing and a few other airports. (This is my most frequent offense).
Of course I have learnt over the years what not to pack in the carry on to make the security procedures easier. One thing I can confirm. Security in US airports, especially for domestic flights, were always a breeze. I am sure the hijackers knew this, which is why they chose US domestic flights as targets.
I’ve flown on quite a few international and domestic flights (last one was in July) and I’ve always been allowed to carry-on my Swiss army knife without any problem. Just plopped it into the tray, and picked it up after passing through the metal detector.
Does the US plan to change to change the procedures at all international airports by default?
It seems even a ‘box cutter’ could be buried in my shoe, if I wanted. I don’t see how any of these new measures could have prevented what happend on Tuesday.
Man, the nails in the soles of my boots set off the metal detectors. Metal itself is so ubiquitous that you simply cannot prevent people from bringing something small like a razor blade on a plane short of strip searches.
Our biggest security right now is going to be passangers who realize that any hijacking could result in their death. You’ve got a plane full of people who feel they’ve got nothing to lose versus a terrorist who has nothing to lose.
I’ve only travelled outside North America once, but I wasn’t stunned in disbelief by security practices. :shrug: I tried bringing my tool kit (for work) as a carry-on once and I got stopped for the hammer. So yeah, it is somewhat arbitrary, but give me my constitutional rights, I’ll give you a metal detector, and I’ll get a razor blade passed you.
Armed guards requires no compromise of existing convenience, and if they are plainclothes they can respond quickly. If they are authorized to use any force necessary, including not letting a hostage interfere with taking the guy down, then we’ve got a damn fine solution IMO.
Could it have been prevented? Of course. And since hindsight is always 20/20, we are going to soon learn all the things that we could have done to prevent it.
But realistically, I don’t think it could have been prevented. Who could have predicted that they would turn commercial jetliners into bombs? Who would have even thought of it? These actions are way beyond what we have come to expect from the average whacko terrorist.
I see two areas where some preventative measures could have been taken, though:
Airline security. Obviously, security is grossly insufficient. If the security measures taken with passengers are lax, then the security measures taken with the airport workers is practically non-existent. Baggage handlers, food service workers, mechanics…it would be so easy to plant someone in those areas.
An increase in airline security would not be enough though. If you were clever enough, you could find a way around it. So, the second, and more important area where preventative measures could have been taken:
Intelligence. I know nada about the intelligence business. But it seems to me that having some good information before the fact would be worth all the airport security in the world. Again, I don’t know how the government would go about improving in this area, but I sure hope they can figure something out.
So, even though this act probably couldn’t have been prevented, we will learn a lot from it, and hopefully be able to prevent future terrorist attacks.
Grean Bean, Tom Clancy wrote about it over ten years ago. This has been a preventable threat for a long time.
Only twist was the terrorsits making sure the plan was full of fuel - Tom didn’t think of that.
This was a failure of US intelligence. Laguardia let three perps (maybe!!!) get away that morning - nobody thought to impound all passengers and bags until they knew what was happening.
Yes, 20/20 hindsight, but where are the people who are suppose to be paranoid professionally???
And who will suffer, and who will pay. You and me. Use your spoon to butter your stale dinner roll.
Back on topic, had the previous administration not cut and curtailed CIA activities 5 years ago we may have been able to identify and respond to this threat before it was carried out.
/cynicism on
And of course, had the U.S. Justice and Intelligence communities not spent much of the past 8 years trying to hide the president’s indiscretions they might have had the resources to stop this anyway.
Southern Style Once again, you spew your venomous hatred of Bill Clinton into an otherwise logical debate. You prove, once again, that you are not interested in debate, but only in beating a dead horse. Take your posts to the pit. Then you can get properly roasted.