Which is what made me write the post to someone who was lying about the released information, not to those in favor of closing the borders.
I am a very frequent flyer, making over 130 flights last year. The number of elderly travelling today is incredible (and gives me hope for my old-age!).
However, many of the elderly are not conscious of their surroundings. This is due partly to age, but also medication that leaves them in a near zombie-like state.
It would take nothing to sit close to these people and slip something into their bags. Even worse, their wheelchair could conceal a much larger object if not checked.
I have watched some elderly leave their bags next to other people and walk away. 99.9% of people are great and take the bag to the owner. That 0.1% might put something in the bag prior to returning it to the owner.
Lastly, can you identify an elderly Muslim who is in 'normal' attire? No. If I was a devoted elderly Muslim man, confined to a wheelchair, I would volunteer to help the fundamentalists by blowing myself up. What do I have to lose?
Lastly, documents picked up have revealed that terrorists have conceived of the idea of disguises and using the infirmed to carry out their attacks.
They do this in Iraq when they pay big money to people to drive a car somewhere, but the driver does not know about the explosive device hidden in the car.
Good points about the elderly as willing or unwitting mules.
I am not willing to credit TSA or HS with the same logical thought process though. The searches are largely politically correct quota policies to appease the ACLU and CAIR and their ilk.
The good news is, even in their ineptitude, there’s a possible unintended upside. While racking up their required numbers of non-muslim/middle-eastern-looking subjects, they may just accidently stumble upon an actual threat of the scenario you describe. Of course, they’d be unprepared for what to do after the discovery. (”Wait here while I call my supervisor...”)