Originally Posted by Doppy
Terrorists who have been active in the West involve people from just about every major part of the world. Al Qaeda has also shown that it can adapt, such as using people who don't fit the typical "middle easterner" profile in attacks.
We could just try to prevent yesterday's attack and be doomed to fail, I suppose. Or we could think about what attacks and attackers might look like in the future.
The terrorists al-Qaeda is recruiting to replace the typical "middle easterner" profile share some common characteristics. They tend to frequent radical mosques, which means they subscribe to the virulent brand of Islam. They are not here in the United States, at least according to available news reports. Given these characteristics, it should be possible to narrow down persons of interest for additional attention, i.e. those who have been overseas. Other governments can cooperate and keep tabs on those who frequent radical mosques and listen to so-called clerics. Even here in the United States, entering a mosque does not carry a privacy interest. Law enforcement and intelligence can observe a mosque, church, or synogogue to note who enters. These are non-intrusive first steps to develop some idea of people who should receive extra attention at airport checkpoints. We all realize that there are only so many resources to spend on aviation security. Those finite resources should be expended in such a manner as to maximize their effectiveness. Everyone should receive some baseline level of security - WTMD, X-ray of bags, ideally puffers and scanners - but pay more attention to those who are more likely to be terrorists. Seems like mere common sense.