by Mark Silva
There's nothing like reaction.
The attempted attack on a U.S.-bound airliner by a radicalized young man from Nigeria who reportedly trained in Yemen with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has prompted a wave of reaction - ranging from tighter screening of airline passengers to calls for all-out ethnic profiling.
"I believe in the next 30 to 120 days there is a danger, a very high probability that a U.S. airliner will come down because of one of these bombers,'' retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney says, suggesting strip-searches for all young Muslim men.
"We've got to go to very, very strict screening, and we have to use profiling and I mean be very serious and harsh about the profiling,'' McInerney said in an appearance on FOX News over the weekend. "If you are an 18- to 28-year old Muslim man, then you should be strip-searched. And if we don't do that there's a very high probably we will lose an airliner...
"If you lose 300 Americans, then people are going to say, why didn't we do this?'' the general asked. "If we continue to become politically correct, then we are going to have a disaster.''
The FOX News contributor is founder of Government Reform Through Technology, a consulting firm that assists high-tech companies. He was the CEO and president of Business Executives for National Security, a national, nonpartisan organization of business and professional leaders.
The West Point graduate served as a pilot, commander and strategic planner in the Air Force, retiring as Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Director of the Defense Performance Review.
Comments
Sorry. "Profiling" won't work.
Terrorists aren't stupid and already know too many ways around "profiling".
Just as there "is no fee lunch", there really isn't any "express lane" in travel any more.
Posted by: ornery | January 4, 2010 10:51 AM
Profiling does work...look at Israeli Air Lines. That's the model we should emulate.
Of course, this would make the A.C.L.U. have a brain cramp, but so be it...our safety is at stake.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | January 4, 2010 11:17 AM
Are these terrosist's using older Japanese men and women to do their work? Are they using older Austrailians? how about simply "White guy's" of any age?
I don't think so there ornery.
Your comments about terrorists knowing too many ways around profiling is rediculous. Please give us all an example of their superior intellegence when it comes to getting around profiling? Who have they used other than the "dark skinned, male muslim in the 18 - 28 age category" we all know to be their MO?
Sorry dudette but the radical muslim terrorist organizations around the planet are using the very sheeple that look just like them to do their bidding!
They do this as an "in your face" to the very person responsible for protecting the good old USA. They know our current POTUS is not likely to open those ugly "ACLU" doors and "hurt their feelings" by profiling them at any airport. By gosh, he wants the world to love and respect him and that just won't happen if he takes terrorism seriously and starts to upset the terrorists.
Posted by: springfield | January 4, 2010 11:24 AM
How many Americans know that a Lebanese Arab looks white? How many know a Palestinian looks white. How many know that most Muslims in the world are NOT Arab?
How are you going to do this profiling, you racist trash?
If you profile a 'brown' person, all the terrorists have to do is use a 'white' person, and you just had your whole system get foiled.
This is nothing but pure, stupid, vile bigotry- driven only by personal racism and not any good sense whatsoever- it doesn't take a genius to figure out.
Posted by: Joe | January 4, 2010 2:21 PM
Sorry SPRINGFIELD and PAULO, you guys are out and out bigots and racists and you just exposed yourself as such.
You probably have no idea how Muslims come in all colors of the rainbow, and you can't profile them like your ignorant brains think you can.
The only other solution is to put yellow crescents on all their clothing, and if you endorse that, then you just exposed your disgusting minds even further.
Posted by: Joe | January 4, 2010 2:34 PM
Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney was already exposed as one of the shills in the media during the Bush administration taking part in the Pentagon military analyst program, set up to recruit "key influentials" to help sell a wary public on "a possible Iraq invasion.
Basically this guy used his distorted views to sell the Iraq war to the American public, and because he's wearing a uniform, we're supposed to view him as a good authority with sage advice. In reality, this shill is just selling war.
Be wary of mucks like this, America. They will tear our country apart.
Posted by: Joe | January 4, 2010 2:53 PM
Yes Joe we all saw Malcolm X and we know Muslims come in all shaped colors and sizes but the ones that blow up themselves,planes and others around them all have pretty much looked the same sooooooo the race card is trumped thank you for playing.
Posted by: Libtard | January 4, 2010 4:24 PM
Libtard: Actually, if you look through all the different terrorists, they are also in all colors. Not only are you a racist, you're horribly ill informed.
Posted by: Joe | January 4, 2010 4:39 PM
Racist this, racist that... the liberal name calling doesn't work anymore Joe, yesterdays news.
Profile these pukes like the Israeli's do or give them thier own airline...call it 73 Virgin Airlines.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | January 4, 2010 8:48 PM
Gee, you come from a country that is known to house terrorists. We should maybe take a closer look at you than Auntie Em or Uncle Joe from Chicago, who have been pre-screened and are waved through the boarding process.
To do otherwise is foolishness, a waste of time and resources.
Posted by: Free to Watch Whatever I Want | January 5, 2010 12:41 AM
Paulo, Libtard and springfield -- have you even bothered to look at a picture of the guy in the Detroit incident? He's a black man. He does not look like the "shoe bomber" or the 9/11 hijackers. He looks like your average young black male. I suppose we should add them to your profiling list and strip search all of them as well? May as well get to the airport the day before your flight if we're just going to do this to anyone who looks sort of different. Or average. Or smells funny. Or whose hair cut you don't like. And Paulo - don't say "name calling doesn't work" and then go on to do it in the exact same post.
Posted by: CommentsToday | January 5, 2010 11:45 AM
Funny, I feel the same way about white christians in pick-up trucks. Ever since Tim McVeigh killed a couple of hundred "jack-booted government thugs", any gun-owning, fertilizer-buying, white guy nedds to be gone over with a fine tooth come. Especially if there's a record of his being an anti-government Republican.
Seriously, all Muslim men?? Black, Asian, Arab, South Asian? I'm not sure what "they" look like. Lots of "them" can pass for White. Wear a cross, carry a bible and .... your in! What about Jewish men? Sometimes they look like Arabs. Really! For a smart guy, this guy sounds really dumb
Posted by: Thebob.bob | January 5, 2010 12:19 PM