By

 

Ken Cubbin

http://kcubbin.tripod.com

(336) 698 0486

(336) 210 6248 cell.

 

 

 

Two years after 911, the U.S. economy finally appears to be on the mend. However, despite mammoth investments in fighting terrorism, at home and abroad, Osama bin Laden (OBL), and his terrorist organization, Al Qaeda, still have the ability to wreak terror. Largely this is because other organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia, and Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, have joined Al  Qaeda in a common cause: their hatred of America.

 

Recent attacks in Indonesia and Iraq underline President Bushs post 911 warning to the nation that the war on terrorism will be long and arduous. But the further we get away from 911, the more our memory fades. U.S. citizens go about their normal lives with an apparent sense of insulation from reality. The threat of another terrorist attack on home soil has not diminished. In fact, with the growth of fundamentalism among impoverished Islamic nations, like Indonesia, the threat of another attack here in the U.S. has actually increased.

 

Airport insecurity

On May 30, 1972, terrorists sprayed waiting passengers with automatic gunfire at Israels Ben Gurion International Airport. Twenty-six people were killed and 76 seriously wounded. Two years later, on August 6, 1974, 2 people died and 17 were seriously injured when a bomb exploded near the PanAm ticket counter in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport. On December 27, 1985, four terrorists opened fire and threw hand grenades among passengers waiting at check-in counters at Romes Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Fourteen people died and 70 were wounded. On the very same day and this is particularly significant a synchronous attack was carried out by terrorists at Viennas Schwechat Airport. In this attack, 3 people were killed and another 47 injured.

 

Today, media reports are all too often filled with horror stories of suicide bombers walking in amongst innocent civilians and detonating bombs strapped to their bodies. In Israel, Pakistan and Indonesia, there have been recent terrorist attacks using their most popular weapon car bombs. In Israel, where security is honed to the nth degree, terrorists are still able to carry out suicide bombings virtually at will.

 

What makes aviation an attractive target for terrorists is that the free flow of goods via air transport is now integral to the welfare of the entire global economy, not just the U.S. Airports are particularly vulnerable.

 

Proof of terrorists intent to mount another attack on airlines came to light on August 12,  2003, when the FBI revealed it had thwarted a terrorist plot to purchase a sophisticated surface-to-air missile. Reflecting terrorists intent, Hemant Lakhani, the accused arms dealer who was arrested trying to sell the Russian missile to undercover FBI agents, allegedly remarked, Make one explosionto shake the economy. His comments are eerily correct; it would only take one significant terrorist act against the airline industry to virtually ensure the demise of one or more airlines. The ripple effect through the economy could be so dire as to throw us back into recession.

 

Passenger apathy

Another recent terrorist plot to attack airlines, uncovered by the CIA,  seems to have been received by the public with a mixture of indifference and skepticism. This is despite reports that terrorists had been experimenting on how to hide explosives and/or weapons in cameras and other small appliances that could easily be smuggled onboard an airplane.

 

The illusion that airport security has improved dramatically has persuaded travelers to return to their pre-911 apathy. All but lost is the comrades-in-arms attitude that prevailed after the attacks. Passengers have fallen back into old habits of burying their heads in magazines during flight attendant pre-departure briefings and avoiding speaking to other passengers.

Vigilance and looking for possible terrorist threats?

I dont think so.

More like are we going to get out on time and wheres my extra pillow.

 

These attitudes prevail even though an article in the press, in late 2002, revealed that airport security screeners failed a test of their ability to detect weapons and explosives in passengers luggage. In some cases, Cincinnati and Las Vegas, half of all items placed in luggage by testers went undetected. To make matters worse, these articles were not even camouflaged. What should alarm passengers more is that a prior test, where prohibited items were hidden in luggage, resulted in much higher non-detection rates, in some cases as high as seventy percent.

 

It wasnt a passenger but a flight attendant who noticed Mr. Reed trying to ignite his shoe on a flight from Paris. Sure passengers came to her assistance, but if they had spent more time being spatially aware of what was going on around them they might have been more attuned to what was about to happen.

After all, what if the flight attendant had not been passing by at that moment?

This has got to change. Passengers had better start taking responsibility for their own safety.

 

Boy scouts motto eternally applicable

 I am concerned that everyone from the president down is warning people to be alert for possible terrorists, but not one person is articulating the fact that people must be prepared to act in their own defense. Exacerbating the airport authorities poor preparedness for probable attacks is the general attitude among the traveling public that things are back to normal. They are not, nor will they ever be.

 

Most Americans have not given any conscious thought to how they might react if confronted with a terrorist situation.

 

Proactive defense

In my book, Survival Tactics for Airline Passengers1, I show how ordinary people can join together to thwart terrorist attacks. Briefly, there are five behavioral changes that each citizen should adopt in everyday life: plan, observe, alert, group, and act. 

Plan

Wherever you might be, note your potential avenues of escape. Never place yourself in an area where you have no avenue of escape unless you cant avoid it. Such a case exists when you are a passenger on an airplane. Know your limitations and be aware of articles in your possession, or within reach, that may be used as a communications tool or weapon.  For example, your cell phone, laptop computer, pens, even a rolled up magazine, may be vital to your defense.  Be attentive to whether there are police officers in the area whom you can call on if need be.

If you live near an airport (within 3 miles), take notice of your neighbors and any new people who may suddenly move into the area.

Observe

Particularly when seated in an airport departure area, or restaurant, make sure you are positioned so you can observe all that goes on around you. Every day of your life, not just at airports, be alert to other people and their actions. Look for suspicious behavior and/or people who appear excessively anxious in their surroundings. Be particularly observant of such people if they carry bags or are parking a vehicle near vulnerable areas.

 

Make a game out of observing clothing, personal characteristics and license plates so, after a while, your memory of your observations will become second nature. Good information is vital to authorities and will expedite the apprehension of suspects.

Alert

In principle, do not approach a suspicious person or item yourself. If you feel something is not right, advise authorities immediately. A bag left unattended, an excessively anxious fellow passenger, or suspicious behavior might be the prelude to an attack.

 

In contrast, if you are on a flight and it becomes obvious that a fellow passenger has evil intent, shout a warning loudly to other passengers and call for others to join you.

If the suspect is seated next to you, for example, it may be necessary for you to take action at the same time as you shout your warning. Responding to your alert, the cabin crew will be able to notify the pilots who can immediately transmit a coded hijack warning to authorities.  Past experiences show that other passengers will assist you.

Group

 If you are not the observer, but hear a call-to-arms from another passenger, rise and come to his or her aid immediately. The more passengers and crew who join the group the better. However, be alert to other sleeper passengers who may be cohorts of the observed suspect. It is highly likely that there will be more than one hijacker in the cabin.

Act

It is vital that you react to situations without hesitation. Quickly judge the level of threat and use whatever force you deem necessary to disable the hijacker. I give plenty of advice on techniques that can be used in my book.

When the hijacker is disabled, secure his limbs to a seat and ensure that he is not left unattended.

 

New world

The terrorist threat is likely to hang over our heads for many years to come. While terrorists cite the cause of their hate to be Americas so-called double standard in the Israel-Palestine issue, the reality is more fundamental.

 

Fully 25% of the worlds Muslims live in Southeast Asia many in abject poverty.  In Indonesia alone there are over 200 million Muslims. With globalization has come the interdependence of national economies and currencies. The Asian currency crisis in 1995, for example, had dire affects on average Indonesian families. Some of these people have since formed the opinion that we in the West are wasteful and oblivious to their plight. The hatred that ensues from these feelings makes it easy for Islamic fundamentalists organizations to recruit would-be terrorists.

At its worse the war against terrorism may evolve into a global war of ideologies the holy jihad that terrorist organizations desire. However, at the very least, terrorism will continue. Therefore, every citizen must become an active agent in the discovery and defense of terrorist plots.

 

In the mean time we still have a long way to go to ensure airline passenger safety. In reality, all vehicles entering an airport should be checked by police at airport perimeters. And airliners should be fitted with anti-missile defense systems. Currently, any aircraft could be brought down with relative ease by a shoulder-fired missile and these can be fired from any location within 3 miles of an airport. 

 

Unfortunately, airport perimeters are all too easy to infiltrate. The terrorist attempt to shoot down an Elal airplane with a shoulder-fired missile in Kenya in November 2002 stands as proof that such an attack is likely. The federal government is considering the option of fitting every commercial airplane in America with a missile defense system, but the wheels of bureaucracy move slowly and the costs involved would be monumental.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that the suggestions I have made in this article to improve aviation security will be adopted in the coming years.

The bad news is that most of the change will only come after further attacks.