Word: airports
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...attack reverberated beyond airport security lines, though those have already become longer and more complicated. The airline scare represented the second time in the past 12 months that purported Islamic terrorists have tried to launch a strike on American soil - and may be the first time that such an assault was directed from Yemen. That's a reminder that the struggle against jihadism is not confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where U.S. forces are now concentrated. In its provenance and near catastrophic outcome, the story of Flight 253 is a reminder that the war on terrorism is far from over...
...Screening Database (TSD), a list of 400,000 people who merit closer watch. That would not necessarily have affected his journey to Detroit. That's because the TSD list has two sublists: one consisting of about 14,000 people who are permitted to fly to the U.S. after extra airport screening, and a set of 3,400 on the no-fly list, who cannot board commercial aircraft in or bound for the U.S. under any condition. Unfortunately, Abdulmutallab was a long way from a spot on either. (Read "Nigeria Banker Fears Son Is Alleged Plane Attacker...
...like most stable explosives it's not easy to ignite - it requires an initial explosion. Usually that would be accomplished with a detonator like a blasting cap, but that device would have almost surely shown up on any airport X-ray machine or metal detector. Instead, Abdulmutallab allegedly brought along a syringe, which could have been filled with a liquid explosive like nitroglycerin. If done correctly, the primer explosion could have set off the PETN, which might have blown a hole in the side of the plane. "It looked like he was trying to use a chemical initiation, and that...
Having to use a liquid primer rather than a detonator makes the bomber's task more difficult but not impossible. It will not be easy to prevent similar attacks in the future without ramped-up airport security. While airport "puffer" machines, which blow air on passengers to collect residue, might have detected the PETN, it's not certain, and many airports lack the machines. "There's always room for improvement in airport security, but it's always going to be a trade-off between convenience and commerce," says Oxley. In the meantime, we may have to count on what worked...
...faithful is actually a modern phenomenon, largely put into motion by Paul VI, and multiplied by John Paul II. Both those popes were lucky to survive brazen assassination attempts: a mentally unstable man lunged at Paul with a knife just after his 1970 arrival at the Manila airport; while John Paul was shot and seriously wounded in 1981 by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca...