Race? What Race?

We're not allowed to use racial profiling in order to protect ourselves, our families and our nation. OK - fine. That leads to the question, "When did Arab become a race?"

Whether they want to admit it or not, Arabs are part of the Semitic race - the same as the Jews. If their appearance is used as a criteria, it would be ethnic, not racial. By using appearance, Turks, Greeks, Jews, Indians and others would be liable to being stopped.

By the same token, Chechnians, Sudanese and Indonesian Muslims would quite possibly slip thru. Profiling by itself is a good start. but it's only a start. Security at our transportation hubs should consist not only of the barrier search - currently a joke - but have plainclothes people walking the terminals, looking for people who appear out of place - clothing, general appearance, etc. - and engaging these people in conversation. If something isn't right then they can radio to the barrier security about the individual.

There are a lot of ways to make security work for you - the number one thing is Don't Tell Anybody About Your Security Measures! If I know what your security measures are, I can get past them. What we're doing now by having random checks at train stations or checking everybody's shoes at an airport is simply a waste of time, effort and money.