Arkin Lowers The Boom

Early Warning, Washington Post (08.11.06):

"There is only one interesting question to come from the busted airline plot in the United Kingdom, and the answer will make the American public boiling mad. No, it’s not whether this is al Qaeda or not. No, it’s not whether Israel’s actions in Lebanon accelerated planning. No, it’s not whether Karl Rove cooked up an 'August Surprise' to boost the vacationing President’s ever-sagging ratings. No, it’s not whether the President could actually define what a 'fascist' is. "The most interesting question is why hasn’t the government, specifically the hapless Department of Homeland Security, improved airline screening after five years." Follow the Liquids

"If liquids are a threat to airline safety and not just a prop in Michael Chertoff's press conference, then why hadn’t Homeland Security and TSA dealt with them months ago, when the intelligence agencies became aware of the British investigation (July 2005)? Why not after 9/11 in the first place? After all, there’s the already thwarted "Bojinka" plot, originally hatched and planned by al-Qaeda in 1995, to blow up airliners simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean." "The flying public should be incensed that a threat known to the security types since at least 1995 has slipped through the cracks. The flying public should be incensed that after five years, the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t solved some the most basic airline security screening tasks and still depends upon panic and over-reaction as the primary means to get the desultory screeners to go beyond their rote routines."