benoit, I think that you are being selective in how you have read the captains statement. First the captain new that the armed LEO was on the flight and had seen this improperly filled out paperwork. It is only after the #1 flt at. brought to his attention that the passenger asked for them not to leave while his property was on the plane or without him. Gosh that sure is strange behavior I would never do that. The major thing that the flt att. brought to the pilots attention is that the person had arabic writing and we would be naive and idiots if we are to believe that she did not describe him as an arab individual! "This pax left the aircraft with carryon bags still in his seat. He told the flt att. Please don't leave without him. While the pax was away a flt att observed books in the individuals seat which were written in what she assessed was Arabic style print. " So no matter what else happened the pilot only seemed to care about him, his paperwork and credentials after learning he was arabic. I am sorry that is the same as several of the other stories that have been published in that arabic looking men are denied boarding by suspicious flight crews, even after being checked and rechecked by security and police.

OK for the flames about Reid making it past security. That just proves that there will be holes in any security system. Yet to ban all arabs from planes is to create the exact situation that terrorists desire. From a purely military standpoint, you cannot defeat this type of enemy without winning hearts and minds. I want pilots that understand how to fly the plane as well as they can. I do not expect or believe that they can now be our security experts. When we have the failures in the system that will happen, the passengers will make sure that 9-11 does not happen again.

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Robert