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Old Mar 10, 2014 | 8:17 am
  #5  
FredAnderssen
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: CPH
Programs: Delta SM
Posts: 497
Originally Posted by bocastephen
I am concerned there is something else going on here - I've never been to an Asian country that was lax with inbound or outbound passport control. Either their system is not setup right (to detect a mismatch between inbound name/fingerprints/passport and outbound name/fingerprints/passport), or something more sinister is in play here - ie. an accomplice in passport control who allowed these individuals through.

If these are Chinese-Muslim separatists, what could be the point of blowing up a Malaysian aircraft (which is a Muslim country) when Chinese airlines fly the same route? There has been no claim made by anyone, no demands, nothing - just a lost plane with lots of questions and no answers.
First off, someone's identity has little to do with whether an airplane is safe to fly in or not. As is often pointed out here, one can travel through Europe with no identification whatsoever, and planes aren't falling out of the sky! Someone traveling on a stolen passport doesn't automatically make them a terrorist. I can think of dozens of reasons to travel anonymously that don't include the will to blow up an airplane.

Second, I've never traveled through asia and have little knowledge as to the extent of their security control, but assuming that they have at least as good security as one finds in Europe or the U.S., one can assume that small tubes of toothpaste, water bottles, knives, guns, and BOMBS aren't being carried onboard, notwithstanding this airline allowing some to board on stolen passports. There is little to no chance, given (I assume again here) that the cockpit doors are reinforced that these mysterious travelers can make a successful assault on the cockpit.

So, even if these mysterious travelers were terrorists with nefarious intent, all the other protections in place from the moment they entered the airport would make any attempts to attack the plane useless.

Third, the entire idea of terrorism is to strike fear into the traveling public. This is done by taking credit for the evil act itself. There has been no one claiming that they've downed an airplane as far as I know. That would be very unusual for a group that was bent on terrorism.
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