On The Foiled Terrorist Plot In The UK

I wonder whether I will be allowed to wear any clothes when I board a flight next year. Adding to the restrictions on sharp objects, the unveiling of today's plot added liquids to the list of banned items.

Airport security is always reactive, precautions are taken after the initial threat has dissipated. Unfortunately for the civilized world, there are not limits to human ingenuity. Jihadi MacGyver wannabees will always find a way to disguise their instruments of death in one way or another.

The problem is that too much attention is focused on the items, and not much is focused on the passenger. There will always be a way to bring items on a plane that can bring it down. Terrorists might very well find a way to bring down a plane with their bare hands. The weakest link in the chain is the terrorist himself, his demeanor,his background etc.

The long term solution, however, is three fold:

1. Invest in intelligence, especially human intelligence. Infiltrate the terror organizations to bring them down. Electronic surveilance has its role to play as well despite the difficulties imposed by the legal systems of our democracies. It was, after all, an intelligence failure that led to 9/11 and an intelligence success that prevented the Heathrow catastrophe.

2. Invest in social services in countries that breed terror. By building schools, hospitals, providing clean water and medical equipment to the poorest Moslem populations, we might be able to lessen the extremism the population in these countries are subjected to. For the price of a cruise missile, we could build a school in Pakistan that will compete with the local madrassah. For the price of an Apache helicopter, we could build a hospital, and so on. Let us show the Arab and Moslem kids the humanity of democracies, not the products of their military industries.

3. Invest in providing Moslem population media outlets that provide their youth with an alternative to the vitriolic media they are subjected to. Radio Sawa and the Al Hurra TV channel are steps in the right direction, but much more is needed to gain the hearts and minds of what could one day become a new generation of terrorists.