News-Record.com

The basic fact is that you can't tell a person's religion just by looking at them. Unless it's me and I'm wearing my t-shirt that says "Atheists are beyond belief." {;-O

But people -- regular people on the street -- don't realize that in war, it's the task of each side to outsmart the other. The minute you start concentrating on "people who look Middle Eastern," the bad guys will find a white person who hates his life enough to make a bargain with them. You can bet that in America, there are plenty to choose from. And they'd slip like invisible gas past the guys with orders to scan every dark-skinned young man in the airports.

There is no way to secure any part of commerce as well as we would all like. We need to accept that fact and start figuring out another path to peace... 'cause we ain't on it now, folks.

"We need to accept that fact and start figuring out another path to peace... 'cause we ain't on it now, folks.".......

durn eric you got me ageein' with ya agin !

Every Israeli knows that it's insanity not to screen, search, profile - everything you possible can to cover the bases. It may not stop 'em all, but by golly it may just get that ONE who intends to blow your flight. We are going to - bleeding heart liberal, politically correct, ACLU - ourselves into oblivion - or close to it. A little collateral inconvenience is worth it!!

Nikos, it was my impression that Israeli security does not profile. They screen every person that comes into their airports. Is this not the case, do you know?

According to one TV news reprot I saw recently, the Israeli's have instituted a technique where security personnel have been trained in a special type of behavioral screening. They are taught to watch for certain types of body language as well as appearance, which apparently wan't enough. I would consider this profiling to the max.

We can count on the enemy to be thier devious and creative selves in trying to out-smart us at every turn. I also thought liberals believe that the whole world hates us anyway - so why try to make the terrorists love us at the terminals by being so careful not to hurt anyones precious ittle feelings. Excesses are sure to occur, and of course abuse is not a viable techniqu; but neither is coddling. We tend to forget that this is war!!

"I also thought liberals believe that the whole world hates us anyway - so why try to make the terrorists love us at the terminals by being so careful not to hurt anyones precious ittle feelings."

I think the issue here is racial profiling. I'm saying it's a grave mistake to urge authorities to concentrate their screening only on "middle eastern looking" people. They should scan everyone including my whitebread self. Do you have a problem with that?

No, I don't have a problem with checking everyone, per se. And normal racial profiling is neither just nor tolerable. But it's totally impractical to "screen" everyone. That's the WHOLE IDEA of profiling: a necessary and selective screening based on the best possible info at one's disposal. In this case, we know that Middle Eastern types were onboard the 911 flights, as well as the ones from English terminals recently. It the case of the latter, thousands of people may have lost their lives. I say, PLEASE profile.

No screening is foolproof of course; but it just makes sense to profile in the case of national emergencies such as war; which is not convenient, normal or politically correct. The Middle Eastern Islamic terrorists should have thought about the ramifications of their despicable acts for their people before they declared war on the West. Bleeding heart liberalism is a tolerable indulgence in times of national tranquility, but a deadly nuisance in times of war.