Will airport security be effective? - Intentionally Controversial

All of us who flew home this past week for Thanksgiving break saw the increased security measures that airports have instituted. We saw the National Guard walking around with large automatic weaponry. We had our "government-issued picture ID's" examined at check-in, before we entered the gate area and when we got on the plane itself. Some of us may even have been searched with a hand-held metal detector after going through the security checkpoint. We also saw random people being drawn from the seating area in front of the gates to have their luggage opened and searched. Will these precautions be enough to prevent future security breaches? Doubtful.

I saw the security personnel who were checking my ID. They barely glanced at it. In the couple seconds they were holding both my ticket and ID, I don't think they could have possibly confirmed that the name on the two was the same and that the face on the ID was the same as mine. Besides couldn't I have just gotten a fake ID if I really wasn't the person I was claiming to be? Would they really have noticed?

They're method of singling out suspicious travelers who have bought their tickets with cash or only bought a one-way ticket does not seem to be entirely effective either. Why can't a terrorist simply pay with a credit card (we all get plenty of applications after all) and buy a round trip ticket.

Perhaps my favorite example of an attempt at security was not official, but an "airplane militia" comprised of frequent flyers ready to interfere with any terrorist action on a plane. Yes, for all you doubters, I did seriously read this in a newspaper.

Let's imagine this scenario: The terrorists get out of their seats and start heading for the cockpit, as one of the men walks down the aisle he knocks a drink onto a passenger's lap. But this isn't any passenger - he is a member of the airplane militia. He looks up and remembers that he saw that man's face on the FBI's most wanted list. "He must have used a fake ID to get through airport security," he thinks, "I knew they would need the airplane militia." With that thought he prepares for action. He nudges his fellow militia members as the West Tulsa 51st Airborne Division prepares for combat. They tackle the would-be-terrorists and the day is saved: another triumph for the airplane militia.

Now let's be honest. That situation, or a less dramatized version of that situation, could never happen. How would they stop these terrorists? With the weapons that they're not allowed to carry on board? I don't think so. And if they don't have weapons, how would they stop terrorists who do?

When it comes down to it, airport security measures are more designed for your everyday traveler than for the criminals who wish to commit violent acts on an airplane. While the measures may not fully eliminate the possibilities for security breaches, they will make travelers like myself more willing to fly again. At the airport I found myself thinking, "Ha, a terrorist couldn't get through the security point I just passed." When I was found to be acceptable to the bored security guard who searched me with the hand-held metal detector, I felt like I was one of the chosen elite allowed to enter the gate area. When the National Guard walked past me without looking at me suspiciously, it confirmed my knowledge that I belonged and that any potential terrorists would certainly not make it past these steadfast security measures.

Alas, the airline business does need a boost and if these security measures will help provide that boost, then I'm all for it.