And, BTW, the best argument against profiling (especially in the long-run) is what happens if the terrorists start recruiting more Jihad Johnnies, or using people who don't fit the profile. That's why the G-U-N is the BIG deal.
To my mind, that makes checking the agent out a no-brainer. Both the agent and AA should have realised this.
The Agent wanted to be checked out. He begged the pilot to confirm his identity but the Captain refused and was fixated upon looking at pictures of known terrorists. The Agent gave him White House phone number and name of his boss but the pilot was fearful that the number might not be good or there might be a plant there to cover for him. Did he have someone check yellow pages which has White House number. No! 75 minutes supposedly agaonizing over what to do and the pilot refused to do the one and only thing that resolve the situation.
A phone call to the White House and five minutes is all it took to finally confirm that the agent was who he said he was. But this call wasnt made until the pilot had boarded his plane and left.