In December in Abu Dhabi, I had a bottle of water with me just before security and drank what I could and then went over to the trash can to throw the half full bottle away because I expecting it to be confiscated anyway. A security person came over to me after I threw the half full bottle away and told me that I could have kept it and gone through security with it. Oh well, it was too late then. But last week, I just took my water through security with me in AUH. No questions or comments, no special screening either.

Of course, this was not the second security screening for the US flights. I was flying to Cyprus.

I also did not have to take off my shoes.

Oh, and before someone comments that my experience was not with TSA, I am just posting my experience to show that security theater is rampant in the USA but not in all parts of the world.