Posted on 08/14/2006 6:06:47 PM PDT by Agent Smith
The Times August 15, 2006
Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks.
Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) have discussed the practicalities of introducing such a system with airport operators, including BAA. They believe that it would be more effective at identifying potential terrorists than the existing random searches.
They also say that it would greatly reduce queues at secur-ity gates, which caused lengthy delays at London airports yesterday for the fifth day running. Heathrow and Gatwick were worst affected, cancelling 69 and 27 flights respectively. BAA gave warning yesterday that the disruption would continue for the rest of the week.
Passengers are now allowed to take one small piece of hand luggage on board but security staff are still having to search 50 per cent of travellers. Airports have also been ordered to search twice as many hand luggage items as a week ago.
BAA was criticised yesterday for failing to commit itself to recruiting more security staff and for claiming that its existing 6,000 staff at seven airports would be able to handle the extra searches. Tony Douglas, the chief executive of Heathrow, said that X-ray screening of hand luggage would be much faster under the new rules on size and contents, leaving staff free to carry out more searches.
The new measures, which include a ban on taking any liquids through checkpoints, are expected to remain in place for months. A DfT source said it was difficult to see how the restrictions could be relaxed if terrorists now had the capabil-ity to make liquid bombs.
The DfT has been considering passenger profiling for a year but, until last week, the disadvantages were thought to outweigh the advantages. A senior aviation industry source said: “The DfT is ultra-sensitive about this and won’t say anything publicly because of political concerns about being accused of racial stereotyping.”
Three days before last week’s arrests, the highest-ranking Muslim police officer in Britain gave warning that profiling techniques based on physical appearance were already causing anger and mistrust among young Muslims. Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment.
“There is a very real danger that the counter-terrorism label is also being used by other law-enforcement agencies to the effect that there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”
Sir Rod Eddington, former chief executive of British Airways, criticised the random nature of security searches. He said that it was irrational to subject a 75-year-old grandmother to the same checks as a 25-year-old man who had just paid for his ticket with cash.
Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant, said that profiling should focus on ruling out people who obviously posed no risk rather than picking out Asian or Arabs.
A DfT spokesman refused to make any comment or answer any questions on profiling.
AIRPORT UPDATE
British Airways plans to cancel forty short-haul and four long-haul flights from Heathrow today as well as eleven domestic flights from Gatwick. Other airlines expect to operate near-normal schedules.
All airports will allow passengers to carry one small piece of hand luggage, but no liquids are allowed through the security search point other than prescribed medicines and baby food.
I have just one thing to say about this.
IT'S ABOUT FRICKEN TIME!
You are right, if they are not actually "good" people, these silent Muslims, living in fear like some poor people in gang areas of the city (who "saw nothing, Officer"), then they could be the moderates of whom you speak. Believing in what their brethren are trying to do and merely wincing when so many infidels have to be killed to get the job done.
On the other hand, Islam's primary theory is that government, religion, society, culture and "state" are all one thing.
Using their own definition of their "system" seems to me we could deal with Islam as if it were a foreign country.
Why, please tell me why, are we so friggin' afraid of offending the Muslims?!?!
I don't get it. If a red-headed albino robbed a bank the police would not stop and interrogate everyone on the street in order to be "fair" to albinos. Only red headed albinos would be subject to questioning, while the rest of us would be free to go about our business.
So, therefore........
We took names when the commies partied.
Take names when the mullahs boogies down the block.
But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks."
yea , exactly...what ya point ?
The Muzzie swill go insane ove rthis one..ACLU ould stop it here..They will get us all killed to be PC..I say dont allow Muslims into airports PERIOD.
That's been my question for years my friend.
WHO CARES WHAT MOSLEMS THINK?
If they didn't have the oil, do you really think anyone would care what they thought?
Hand them a piece of bacon at the security checkpoint?
And when an Orthodox Jew refuses it.....then WHAT?
You are right. That is why I wanted to know what Saqib Ali (running for Montgomery County, maryland Delagate) stood for on the WOT and if he would represent the Muslim community denouncing Radical Islamic terrorism.
He wrote me back and told me he would not give me information unless I was in his district and if I was in his district he would need my home address. He wouldn't answer a radio interview today about his views on Hezbollah - he hung up.
It doesn't work both ways in this country. He cannot ride this fence. Sounds like Bush was right. Are you with us or not?
Profile them.
Profile observing Jews? Are you nuts?
Only took a few decades for reason to catch up with reality.
Sorry, can't agree with your "inescapable conclusion". In fact, I escaped it.
There is, however, no escaping the conclusion that The Religion Of Peace has already degenerated into a full-fledged terrorist enterprise, hijacked by Koranic ideologues. To be sure, not all Muslims participate in the terror but all the terrorists are Muslims. (There is no perfection in this World. McVey only proves the rule.) Therefore, targeting those likely to be captives of degenerate Islamic thought is only prudent and thrifty. Further, no one race has a monopoly upon participation in the terror but, there are several nationalities which are more likely to be susceptible to mulla messages of mayhem than others. Therefore to focus attention upon the most likely victims of the Cult of Mohammed is THE ONLY SANE POLICY.
Finally, you should put down your prayer book and rethink your assertion that "NOTHING", even genocide, is worse than a "racist mindset". That is a claim which you will not be able to substantiate. Plus, a superset of 'genocide' is 'nationcide', a fate intended for the USA, regardless of race, by the Islamic Fascists so, in that sense, they can be said to be 'equal opportunity destroyers' but ruthless nonetheless.
Well, unfortunately, for the good ones among them, it is their community's members who are far more likely to commit an act of terrorism.
If it's inconvenient, too bad. Innocent lives are worth a lot more than someone being offended over some PC crap.
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