Possibly, since this particular plot was revealed back in the Spring but without solid details. Kudos to the real security agencies though. ^

I never trusted those bleached blondes...what are they trying to hide? :)

I think that the TSA would consider it a "bust" on their terms. See, for example, this press release.

I'm glad the Germans caught these guys.

It did bug me in the story that they said something to the effect of "there was no threat to the homeland." There is no "homeland" Comrade. :td:

I had to get a chuckle out of the statement that US analysts were "working the case real hard." Reminds me of the Onion's "very special forces" article.

I do wonder what concentration the peroxide was. I know drug store grade peroxide is pretty week and it takes concentrations of around 30% or so for a really big explosion. Was it higher concentration, or were they concentrating it somehow from regular peroxide?

How much you wanna bet peroxide's gonna be banned, though? :rolleyes:

The containers that the German's displayed to the press were 35% . . . that, with the correct "other stuff," could make a big boom!

Did you ignore that this incident happened outside the US? TSA doesn't have airport screeners doing airport screening in Germany or stopping terrorists in Germany. The point is that yet again airport screeners didn't catch terrorists, other types of organizations do.

So by "bust" you mean discovering explosive components while going through a security checkpoint? If so, I misunderstood. I interpret "bust" as actively going out and investigating criminal activity resulting in an arrest, and obviously neither the TSA or foreign airport screeners do that.

It actually already is. We use a new test that checks specifically for peroxide. We open the container, place a test strip above the opening and if it detects the vapor of peroxide, it doesn't fly in a carry-on.

What screening process will the TSA use to determine who is really "bleached blondes"?:p

Do you do this test to every container? If not, what's the point?

Yes that would. I remember chem professors saying it was very unstable at 30%.

Sure doesn't look like John Wayne...but then the real John Wayne couldn't shoot a gun either.

Unless, of course, it is declared beforehand as contact lens solution.

Personally I would be a lot more concerned if the "terrorists" had 500 kilos of fertilizer. Or does the cost of fuel in Europe make that impractical?

I can't quite image 3 guys who are unemployed being able to synthesize much of anything beyond rum-and-coke.

If they bothered to buy the correct equipment, they could test every container and not even have to open it - in fact, the entire liquid fiasco could be ended.

But no...why bother doing the smart thing when there are so many dumb decisions to make.

If there is a legitimate reason why the TSA didn't buy the very affordable no-sample-prep spectrum analyzers, then this data should be public knowledge and freely available. They must be held accountable for their decision-making.