Originally Posted by
jkhuggins
Simply put, that goal is impossible to achieve. Any terrorist organization, given enough time, money, and people, can do damage to any particular flight or airport. Even I, with very little training, can come up with unbeatable scenarios.
It's the same way with my car. Yes, I've got a security system on it. That won't stop someone from stealing it if they're determined enough. Heck, all they've got to do is get a tow truck and they can steal the whole thing. But since most thieves don't have tow trucks, all I'm trying to do is discourage the guy who wants to break into my car enough so that he decides that the risk of detection isn't worth the effort.
That's what airline security should be trying to achieve. Absolute security is a myth. The question really should be: what levels of security are possible, at what cost (both in terms of restriction of liberties as well as money spent)? And then we can have a rational discussion as to whether the benefits of a given level of security justify the cost --- and reasonable people can hold different positions on those questions.
I like to think in a different way, the goal should always be every flight safe from beginning to end, period. Whether that is acheivable or not is not a factor. It is about trying to do the best job possible and always looking to improve what you have for the next evolution of the nefarious intenders (or loonies, whichever you want to call them). I realize that from time to time, something is going to slip through, it is simply the law of averages catching up to us, and the determination of those with bad intentions finding a seam and exploiting it. Just because you can't have something, does not mean that it isn't what you should strive for, that is what drives new technology and procedures. I always want to be one step ahead of the bad guys in new procedures and tech regardless of whether we actually are or not (and if we are not, working to get to the point that we are). I guess that is just how I tend to look at things, always work on doing what you are supposed to well, and then finding the next step in the learning curve before the loonies find it.