Originally Posted by
polonius
Do you have ANY idea how much EASIER it would be to launch two terror attacks/month, each killing a minimum of 100 people, every month for the next 12 months, then it would be to continue doing our current jobs? Running your typical McDonalds -- hiring workers, managing workers, buying supplies, keeping the place cleaned, keeping the place secure, maintaining the equipment, dealing with the health authorities, etc., ALL of that is lot more complex than running a terror organisation. All this TSA nonsense doesn't make any real difference. People standing in a ticket queue at an airport is only one of dozens of potential targets. I could think up two dozen more while I take my shower tomorrow morning. 99% of us have jobs that are more challenging than that of your typical "international terrorist." Only an idiot would find such work difficult, and only a real idiot would think anything the TSA has done (shampoo war? shoe removal? those are a couple of things that might have caused terrorists concern -- for about 10 minutes) has done anything to make it any more challenging.
Unfortunately, 9/11 made us exceptionally myopic in terms of security. We focused so much on airports, just about everything else gets a pure pittance of engaged security. You are correct that one could spend 10 minutes to come up with a list of targets in any large city that doesn't have anything to do with aviation.
Perhaps someday we will focus on real security particularly in other areas apart from airports, but my guess is it will take an incredibly tragic incident for that to happen.