Originally Posted by
Wally Bird
If the primary screening was effective and done properly, nobody needs a secondary unless there is an unresolved WTMD alarm or x-ray item. Nobody needs to be profiled, just thoroughly screened. Of course, that means the No-Fly List would be useless. Oh wait, it already is.
There is a lot of merit in the idea of layered security. The thing is that those layers have to be credible, which SSSS is not. If SSSS were implemented on its own it'd be like filtering tap water by removing and distilling one teaspoon from each gallon of dirty water and then mixing it back in. The water is still just as dangerous.
Originally Posted by
Wally Bird
If passenger is not in possession of a credible weapon or a viable explosive, it doesn't matter security-wise who he or she is, where they have been or where they are going; or why.
Unarmed people can still be a danger in the airport, on the street, or at home. If someone is too dangerous to be allowed to fly, they're too dangerous to take the bus; they should be dealt with regardless. If there is a vulnerability in the "sterile" area, fix it. If there is to be a 'no-fly list', it should not have any US residents on it; the only people on such a list should be people outside the US who present a clear and present danger to the US. The only US citizens on the list are fugitives from justice in countries that don't cooperate (deport, etc.). Even those people should generally be allowed in so that we can prosecute them.
You can't keep dangerous people out of public facilities and off of common carriers. End of story.