Tuesday, May 8, 2012

CIA Underwear Bombers?

Last month the US learned of an attack Al-Qaida's Yemen branch had been planning to unleash aboard a US plane. The US was fortunate enough to hear the news before the attack, and due to informants working with CIA and Saudi intelligence the attack was stopped and it turned out that the very men Al-Qaida relied on carrying out the attack were the informants.

 The Bomb that was supposed to detonate aboard a plane was to be hidden in a passenger's underwear. This bomb was also an upgrade from the bomb discovered on an airplane over Detroit in 2009 which failed to detonate.  Unlike the bomb from 2009, this bomb had no metal and used a chemical as a detonator. Although intelligence knew of the bomb prior of its use in this case, officials say that the bomb would have been seen anyway when the passenger stepped into the full body scanner. After the operation was over and this new bomb found, security in US airport  stayed the same.

After hearing about this attack being foiled, I still feel worried about our security. Sure the scanner would have found it but, this new bomb shows that Al-Qaida is getting smarter with their bombs and although they took a defeat on this one, no one knows what the future holds.

My question to you is, do you feel safe getting on an airplane today? After reading about this, will you be focusing on all passengers scratching their back sides? Do you think the US should tighten security in airports even though it could cause airline companies to crash due to price increases?

Full Article: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-al-qaida-bomber-cia-informant-221800669--finance.html;_ylt=Ajob.MBnY1IX.0WkIPEGCMWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNtc2llbDJxBG1pdANKdW1ib3Ryb24gRlAEcGtnAzhhYzFiYmM1LTU3N2ItMzgyNi1iMzA0LWVlNDM2YzBjOGM4MARwb3MDMgRzZWMDanVtYm90cm9uBHZlcgNjMTVkNDE5MC05OTYwLTExZTEtYjdjMy0yY2Y1ZTU3ZDQwNjI-;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

4 comments:

Anna Olson said...

I think it's another huge relief that the US had intelligence on the plot prior to its attempt. However, I'm also left wondering whether or not the scanners really would have picked it up. Security is leveled up after each threat, but it seems like in most major cases it's prior information that allows for the plot to be caught and stopped. It's always a relief that these plots never make it to airport security, but it leaves me wondering what happens when one day there is no prior information, and the security systems are finally put to the test.
But for now, at least these incidents reinforce the purpose of the airport security "hassle" that we're all all too familiar with.

PatrickG said...

Honestly, I still do feel safe going to the airport because security seems just fine to me. Every time I go, I am never left wondering am I going to be caught in some plot to destroy the U.S. At the same time, I also feel that we are obligated to believe that the system works because if we didn't, terrorists would win anyway. We would have lost faith in our government to the extent that we don't even think that they can protect us and that is much worse than destroying an airport. Besides, planes are dangerous but we still go to the airport so it shouldn't really effect the number of people going to an airport or stop you from going on the off chance that there could possibly be a terrorist with a concealed bomb.

Sophia Wu said...

I agree with Patrick. There's always going to be a danger whenever anyone chooses to fly. Passengers must have faith in the engineers who built the airplane and the pilot who flies it. There are a million possibilities of what could go wrong, from having enough gas to landing safely to all sorts of mechanical problems that could happen in the air. I think that if safety were the top of people's concerns, then very few people would fly and airlines would go bankrupt.
In addition to national security, I think that a large of of the strict regulations going through airport security is simply having faith in our government. It's great to know that the CIA foiled another al Qaeda attack, but like Anna said, there will be a day where the CIA won't be one step ahead. Technology is constantly evolving and now it's a race to see who can stay a step ahead. The development of new security technology isn't cheap and if it's compensated for through higher ticket prices, so be it. I think anyone would agree that a couple more dollars each flight is worth it if it foils a terrorist attack.

Alex Batista said...

What I surmised of the article was that even following the incident, most Americans still place a high level of confidence in their airport security, and in the Transportation Security Administration. What is of more concern however, is the security of international airports. Because of our nation’s history with terrorism and terrorist plots, American citizens have grown accustomed to the increasing level of intrusion necessary at an airport, from the pat downs to the full-body scanners. Internationally, however, many airports are much more lax in their airport security, and don’t necessarily require a full body scan of all boarding passengers. In my opinion, America would do best to crack down on these airports that offer inbound flights to our shores, and push for stricter security and tighter protocol. As noted by the previous comments, while the actions of the TSA may have added an extra burden and hassle to frequent fliers, the small breach of privacy is not much to pay for the greatly increased security American travelers can now feel.