It was 50 yards, and the officer was occupied at the time. But more to your point, Muslims and AQ types are not just Arabic-looking people.
and saunter right back out through the dragnet without drawing any attention while carrying an assault rifle.....
An assault rifle? Boy, are you on the wrong forum. ;-)
That Muslim exchange student they caught two weeks ago trying to board a plane with 2 box cutters hidden in a bottle of lotion and scissors in a bar of soap was Bulgarian.
There's a whole lot of Philippino and Indonesian Muslims that are candidates for this kind of operation, too.