Found on Jerry Pournelle's site (highly recommended):

Thought you might be interested in this one apropos of some of your earlier comments on the inanities of our recent airport security measures.



- Mark

To ensure we Americans never offend anyone - particularly fanatics intent on killing us - airport screeners will not be allowed to profile people. They will continue random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, Secret Service agents who are members of the President's security detail, and 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips.

Pause a moment and take the following test.

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In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:

(a) Norwegians from Ballard;

(b) Elvis;

(c) A tour bus full of 80-year-old women; or

(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up by:

(a) A pizza delivery boy;

(b) Crazed feminists complaining that being able to throw a grenade beyond its own burst radius was an
unfair and sexist requirement in basic training;

(c) Geraldo Rivera making up for a slow news day; or

(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:

(a) Luca Brazzi, for not being given a part in "Godfather 2;"

(b) The Tooth Fairy;

(c) Butch and Sundance who had a few sticks of dynamite left over from the train mission, or,

(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:

(a) Mr. Rogers;

(b) Hillary, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems;

(c) The World Wrestling Federation to promote its next villain:"Mustapha the Merciless;" or

(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked and destroyed by:

(a) Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd.

(b) The Supreme Court of Florida trying to outdo their attempted hijacking of the 2000 Presidential
election;

(c) Mr. Bean,

(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

Nope, ain't no patterns here.

* * *

Pournelle replies:

The question is, are there things we were not meant to know? Or that, knowing them, we must act as if we don't know them? Is it really reasonable to nearly shut down air commerce so that we can treat 3 year old children of US middle class citizens, 80 year old grandmother, 83 year old Medal of Honor winners, and frequent flyer businessmen the same as Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40?

What price equality, and what price security? And have we in fact increased security at all?

The goal is not to prevent people being killed by suicide bombers. It is to make it difficult for the bomber: who today can manage to get the same people plus some security guards by blowing himself up at the airport lounge gate. It is to prevent the use of aircraft as kamikaze cruise missiles against other targets. That is best done by making certain that the airport cockpit is secured, so that at best a successful attack on an airplane does no more than bring down the airplane with possible but random collateral damage on the ground. This is a lot easier to do than the "security" measures we have instituted, and doesn't require confiscation of nail files, scissors, Medals of Honor, or for that matter swords and Bowie knives and box cutters: if you can't get to the pilots you can't take over the airplane. You may or may not be able to murder passengers and cabin crew but you may also find yourself pounded to jelly as the passengers sit on your head and cheer while you are being jumped on.

The world is not safe, but you are safer on an airplane under the old security arrangements than you are driving to the airport. On the other hand, you can now be faced with 20 years in prison for going to the bathroom 23 minutes before the plane lands: I understand that one of the charges in that case is that the passenger glared at the flight crew member.

What we are doing is stupid, probably compounded by the unfortunate fact that the inept Secretary of Transportation is the only Democrat in the cabinet and thus almost untouchable; and he hasn't a clue, other than to be politically correct in all instances.

So it goes.