Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown
London Times ^ | 8/15/2006 | Ben Webster

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: airlinesecurity; airports; gwot; jihadintheuk; londonairlineplot; muslims; profiling; security; terrorism; waronterror; wot
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-132 next last
To: Agent Smith

But wont that make them angry? /s


81 posted on 08/15/2006 2:20:04 AM PDT by stocksthatgoup ("Is it real? Or is it Reuters?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith
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.

"You bigots!"

82 posted on 08/15/2006 3:12:41 AM PDT by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith
"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."

Considering that all of the terrorists have been Muslim and middle eastern it only makes sense to protect ourselves. Amen.
83 posted on 08/15/2006 3:21:09 AM PDT by gakrak ("A wise man's heart is his right hand, But a fool's heart is at his left" Eccl 10:2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith
Round up the usual suspects!
- Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), "Casablanca".

Capt. Louis had the right idea, maybe the Brits are getting the idea.

84 posted on 08/15/2006 3:41:19 AM PDT by mc5cents
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: phoenix0468
Not necessarily since there are some Caucasian Muslims. Remeber John Walker Lindh?



Would you let this guy on your airplane?

85 posted on 08/15/2006 4:10:51 AM PDT by Beckwith (The dhimmicrats and liberal media have chosen sides and they've sided with the Jihadists.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith

Exactly what I was thinking: ONE country gets it.


86 posted on 08/15/2006 4:42:45 AM PDT by nonliberal (Graduate: Curtis E. LeMay School of International Relations)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: graced
How silly! We could go the other route. Security resources such as the number of trained screeners, the number of people who are qualified to look through hand luggage, the number of people who can interrogate, etc. are finite. Even the amount of space in the airport to conduct the necessary screening is finite. That is the issue right now that has forced the cancellation of so many flights at Heathrow, and has forced so many passengers to wait so many hours in such long lines, lines that now snake outside the terminal.

The entire question is: how do you allocate and direct finite resources to achieve the highest probability of deterring and detecting the person who is so intent on murdering people so they can get a better reward in the afterlife?

Do you do it by allowing your people to spend time frisking people with a low probability such as blue-haired old ladies in wheelchairs? It is just moronic to suggest that is productive. It may be "fair", it may be politically correct, but it is still moronic.

No, you allocate your resources with people who your intelligence sources indicate have associated themselves with the effort to murder people. Such perps proudly march behind banners and throw bottles at police in riots. Such perps carry signs proclaiming how proud they are of the success of previous murderers. They self-identify, and they are proud of it.

This is not to say that attempts won't be mounted to circumvent the profiling. But I have yet to see any retired Norwegian farmers from Minnesota carrying a "bin Laden is my hero" sign.

People who insist the threat lays elsewhere are either blind or dangerous.
87 posted on 08/15/2006 4:53:28 AM PDT by theBuckwheat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith
Courts have lately been making runlings against 4th Amendment 'rights' due to 'public safety' concerns. Plus, in keeping with the 4th, profiled searches are more 'reasonable' than random searches. In brief, LEOs have a reason to search people with Islamic appearances, therefore it is reasonable to search them. Reasonable.
88 posted on 08/15/2006 5:40:54 AM PDT by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nopardons

Hmmm ~ guess that's a risk we'll have to take.


89 posted on 08/15/2006 5:57:51 AM PDT by muawiyah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: B-Chan

>>What I'm trying to say is that as a Catholic and and
>>American, my highest allegiance is to my family and the
>>U.S.A -- I acknowledge only Jesus Christ and his mother
>>ahead of my family and my country. And I daresay you'd
>>be hard-pressed to find any American Catholic (or
>>American Lutheran, Mennonite, Jew, or Mormon) who
>>doesn't feel the same.

And the leader of the church (whichever one) would be right out there denouncing these terrorists in front of you. Islam just does not seem have that kind of class, or decency.


90 posted on 08/15/2006 7:15:42 AM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Alouette

Mormons don't drink beer (Grin) how about we all say Mohammet was a pedofile, I spit on his name.

It would be hard for the jehadis to go to their deaths with that on their lips (no 72 for you pig boy!)


91 posted on 08/15/2006 7:19:56 AM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: Yaelle

They should train pigs as sniffer animals....or just ban all muslims from any transport


92 posted on 08/15/2006 7:52:49 AM PDT by crazycat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Lizavetta

Timothy McViegh didn't act alone either. Wasn't there Eye witnesses who saw Middle Eastern men with him?


93 posted on 08/15/2006 10:39:33 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Mr. Franklin, what form of customes did you create in Tiajunna? A beeber, Madam, if you can stune it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: B-Chan
What I'm trying to say is that as a Catholic and and American, my highest allegiance is to my family and the U.S.A -- I acknowledge only Jesus Christ and his mother ahead of my family and my country. And I daresay you'd be hard-pressed to find any American Catholic (or American Lutheran, Mennonite, Jew, or Mormon) who doesn't feel the same.

Not!

As A Bible believing Christian, and a follower of Christ. Not taking away the promise of the Divine appointment of Mary. Mary wasn't God's mother, nor is she to be worshipped. Any Protestant Christian wouldn't put Mary infront of thier family. Jesus yes, Mary is the mother of Jesus, but not a deity.

94 posted on 08/15/2006 10:43:28 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Mr. Franklin, what form of customes did you create in Tiajunna? A beeber, Madam, if you can stune it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith

("there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”)

These communities are criminalizing themselves.


95 posted on 08/15/2006 10:46:33 AM PDT by winner3000
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Zavien Doombringer

1. Mary is the mother of Jesus.

2. Jesus = God.

3. Therefore, Mary is the mother of _________.

Fill in the blank.


96 posted on 08/15/2006 11:24:19 AM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 94 | View Replies]

To: B-Chan

Uh, It is God who said, "There are none before me, or after me.." So, therefore, Mary cannot be God's mother...


97 posted on 08/15/2006 2:57:25 PM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Mr. Franklin, what form of customes did you create in Tiajunna? A beeber, Madam, if you can stune it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]

To: Zavien Doombringer

1. Mary is the mother of Jesus.

2. Jesus = God.

3. Therefore, Mary is the mother of _________.

Fill in the blank. Please.


98 posted on 08/15/2006 4:52:56 PM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: Agent Smith; dennisw; Alouette; Yehuda; Lijahsbubbe
But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community

What doesn't?

99 posted on 08/15/2006 4:55:42 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal (As it was in the days of NO...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: muawiyah

You're being ridiculous beyond belief.


100 posted on 08/15/2006 6:44:42 PM PDT by nopardons
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-132 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson