Ginblossom

That there has been the biggest piece of garbage I have read today.

I tell you what I have fully grasped is the immensity & totality of opinions such as yours that fail to grasp that there is a war going on.

I suspect that you believe that any effort at counterterrorism is a law enforcement problem to be managed, and not a war to be won.

dunroving

No problem, I actually thought it was all pretty funny ...

Giantaxe

The war isn't going to be won by stupid stuff like turning off route maps and banning people from standing up for the last hour of a flight. That's what people are complaining about.

Ginblossom

Well, those rules have been changed by some carriers. Virgin for instance did that for one day, then changed it.

Actually, on the news, most people being interviewed are ok with it all. Whats a little inconvenience. Besides, as has been noted, its not much in this case that security was the issue, it was the fact that the State Dept dropped the ball it appears. The guy should not have got past check in.

nettlebed

Brit3964

I just heard on the radio that the TSA have revised the 1hr seat rule to that of being left up to the flight crew's discretion. Now why couldn't they have just said "we made a mistake and overreacted" That'll be the day!

Steerpike

Your view that this is a 'war' that can be won by 'hard power' is the silly part.

Fighting terrorism with 'power' is like fighting cockroaches with guns. If you want to kill cockroaches, you need to study them, understand them, learn how they function, then develop ways to eliminate them that does not kill everything else around them nor make them mutate into something stronger. Invading Iraq as a 'counter-terrorism' action was a big mistake that had an overall negative effect.

To answer your question - I view counter-terrorism as an extremely complex situation that requires attention on many fronts - diplomatic, psychological, 'surgical' (hitting training camps), political, etc. Force, in this particular situation, is one of the least effective weapons. We need to hire and train people who speak the language, and understand the culture; right after 9/11 we discovered we had virtually no operatives capable of infiltrating the terrorist networks. That's the kind of thing we need to be doing, along with many other lines of attack" (*). "bombing them back to the dark ages" may be a feel-good exercise for some but is wholly counter-productive.

But as I said - you don't even live here ... a wannabe ex-pat trying to tell those of us who live here how to think...

(*) Edit - 'other lines of attack' include reaching out to the muslim world and convincing the masses that we are not at war with Islam. Obama's speech in Egypt was a good first start. More than anything, the 'war on terror' is a battle for the hearts and minds of the youth of muslim countries.

traceym

So if I'm good put my hand up and ask politely miss will let me go to the loo! Thank God!

Sally Redux

How true - sums it up perfectly. The whole point of these attacks is to disrupt our way of life, boy are they succeeding.

Scouse Express

One can always fly equipped with a colostomy bag attached to one's private parts and not get out of the seat at all.

But then, you would be dead at the end of the flight due to DVT.

Life sucks......then you die


Jim

Sally Redux

A colostomy bag attaches directly to your colon.

Scouse Express

Details.....Details

Jim.

meauxna

I disagree with this. Nigeria is one of the most difficult places to get a US visa; as was noted earlier, in the fraud continuum, it's reported that State has low, medium, high and Lagos. If he was issued a visa a year/two ago, he was investigated.

The cash ticket purchase, I can overlook, considering the local economy. The recent trip to Yemen and the no luggage for a trip halfway around the world (partnered with the Embassy call from his father) were the red flags I've read about that make me go 'hmmm'.

Now, as moderator and friend, and I'm asking everyone to cool it with the name calling and personal digs. GB isn't a troll, he's a person expressing his opinion ( a troll would be posting.. nevermind, you both know what a 'troll' is). He's also not a wannabe expat, he's on his way here and has a USC spouse so let's not assume we know everything about his perspective please.

Only if you're jiggling.

Ginblossom

Wise words from meauxna.

I wonder if he got that visa from London when he was a student at UCL?

Wouldn't that just be akin to a rubber stamp rather than him getting much closer scrutiny from the US embassy in Nigeria?

All that said, when he went into TIDE the visa should have been cancelled anyway arguably.

lisa67

aww..was thinking about an E2..setting up a stall selling depends underwear just outide DFW airport