Race should never be the ONLY factor when screening, but it certainly should enter into the mix. Alarm bells should go off if someone is acting suspicious, but alarm bells should ring a WHOLE LOT LOUDER if that someone acting suspicious fits the profile of a male of eastern descent between the ages of 17 and 40.

It's called common sense, something that we have allowed to fall by the wayside in our overzealous attempts to never cause offense. In a more scientific terminology, it is also called risk assessment and more often involves selective screening based on who is LEAST likely to be a threat. Unfortunately, this is all too often mistaken for profiling, when it is nothing of the sort.

Will we catch ALL terrorists using common sense? No. Will we catch MORE terrorists using common sense? Yes. I believe the Israelis have the screening process down cold, but it is not a procedure we could adopt across the board in the U.S. We should look to them as to how to begin to properly screen airline passengers.

A whole lot better case for common sense is made here - Pilot screening recommendations