Longstreet: Profiling Is The Answer – Or Is It?
Had it not been so serious, it would have been funny to watch all the transportation safety experts scratching their heads over the question of how the Christmas Day “would-be-bomber” terrorist got aboard an American jetliner with a bomb. DUH! We ALLOWED him to board with a bomb!
So now we throw more technology at the problem such as the new full body scanners. And you know what? Terrorists will STILL get aboard American Jetliners with bombs!
The answer to the problem, at least to a HUGE portion of the problem is standing right before our very eyes like the proverbial elephant in the room. And, like the elephant in the room, it begs to be recognized and spoken of.
What is it? PROFILING!
We have all received, or seen, the following quiz by e-mail:
Remember?
1 In 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by….
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
4.During the 1980′s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
7.In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
8.In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
10.In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
11.On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashedinto the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:
12.In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
and, of course, there were the:
14. 2004 – Spain Railway bombings
15. 2005 London Railway bombings
The accused perpetrators fit a single profile. And so the question is asked – do we not see a pattern here, which justifies profiling? I understand this question is almost as difficult as answering the question “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?”
Then there is the very practical question: What does a Muslim male extremist look like, anyway? Is he Black, White, Brown, or some other shade of skin pigmentation? Yep, he sure is! Muslim men come in all sizes, shapes, and colors… just like everyone else.
There is no question the US government is falling down on the job. Their efforts, so far, have been just short of pathetic. Their Keystone Kops approach to air travel safety is, as we said, very nearly funny, until we reckon the deadly circumstances of another slaughter in the air and on the ground.
I am not so arrogant as to intimate that I have the answer. I don’t. I DO have the answer for me, though. I do not intend to travel by commercial air again. For me it will be ground transportation. I realize many Americans MUST travel by air as a part of their jobs. You have my sympathies — and my prayers.
~ The Author ~
Federal Observer contributing columnist, J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom.
I fully understand your well written words sir, but I would just like to point out that if the Muslim Hoards made you want to stay off airplanes then they have already succeeded in their goal; to disrupt and eventually break the United States of America.
That said, I won’t be getting on any airliners either.
But I’m ready for’em. Better be’lieve it.
We don’t need profiling to identify Individuals like the Christmas-Day Bomber!
Virtually all media outlets are discussing whether we should be profiling all Arab Muslims; I will in the one-page explain why we don’t need profiling. Over 15 years ago, we at the Center for Aggression Management developed an easily-applied, measurable and culturally-neutral body language and behavior indicators exhibited by people who intend to perpetrate a terrorist act. This unique methodology utilizes proven research from the fields of psychology, medicine and law enforcement which, when joined together, identify clear, easily-used physiologically-based characteristics of individuals who are about to engage in terrorist activities in time to prevent their Moment of Commitment.
The Problem
Since the foiled terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national on Northwest Flight 253 to Detroit, the President has repeatedly stated that there has been a systemic failure as he reiterates his commitment to fill this gap in our security. This incident, like the Fort Hood shooting, exemplifies why our government must apply every valid preventative approach to identify a potential terrorist.
The myriad methods to identify a terrorist, whether “no-fly list,” “explosive and weapons detection,” mental illness based approaches, “profiling” or “deception detection” – all continue to fail us. Furthermore, the development of deception detection training at Boston Logan Airport demonstrated that the Israeli methods of interrogation will not work in the United States.
All media outlets are discussing the need for profiling of Muslim Arabs, but profiling does not work for the following three reasons:
1. In practice, ethnic profiling tells us that within a certain group of people there is a higher probability for a terrorist; it does not tell us who the next terrorist is!
2. Ethnic profiling is contrary to the value our society places on diversity and freedom from discrimination based on racial, ethnic, religious, age and/or gender based criteria. If we use profiling it will diminish our position among the majority of affected citizens who support us as a beacon of freedom and liberty.
3. By narrowing our field of vision, profiling can lead to the consequence of letting terrorists go undetected, because the terrorist may not be part of any known “profile worthy” group – e.g., the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh
The Solution
Our unique methodology for screening passengers can easily discern (independently of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, age, and gender) the defining characteristics of human beings who are about to engage in terrorist acts.
The question is when will our government use true “hostile intent” through the “continuum of aggressive behavior” to identify potential terrorists? Only when observers focus specifically on “aggressive behavior” do the objective and culturally neutral signs of “aggression” clearly stand out, providing the opportunity to prevent these violent encounters. This method will not only make all citizens safer, but will also pass the inevitable test of legal defensibility given probable action by the ACLU.
As our Government analyzes what went wrong regarding Abdulmatallab’s entrance into the United States, you can be assured that Al Qaeda is also analyzing how their plans went wrong. Who do you think will figure it out first . . . ?
Visit our blog at http://blog.AggressionManagement.com where we discuss the shooting at Fort Hood and the attempted terrorist act on Flight 253.