My statement was based on the reality of the time, not what I feel may or may not be correct. The fact at the time, and still today, is that passports and social security numbers are not required for domestic travel.

Countless methods can be used in the future. I have used INSPass. Frankly, the system is quite slow and eratic. Sometimes I got through on the first attempt, other times I was rejected so many times I had to see an INS agent in person.

Is there a need for a national identity card such as Germany has? Perhaps yes. But, the civil libertarians will fight to their graves to not have such a document. I will go so far as to say I would be among the first to apply for such a document if it existed.

Finally, all of the identity verification procedures will work if the individual is a known threat. In the vast majority of cases, the individuals involved were not on a suspect or most wanted list.

Granted, El Al does have excellent security. However, as has been discussed countless times in this forum, they can do what they do to the very limited size of their operation. Can you imagine JFK if El Al's procedures were used by every airline for every flight?

Review some of the posts on this forum. How many people have said that they "deserve" to bypass security because of their elite status. Since when is elite status a guarantee that a person is not a threat?

The bottomline is that the average person is selfish and only concerned about making their life as easy as possible. Let's see how quickly everyone wants to get back to the ways of the good old days.