With local populations jittery because their lives and very way of life depend upon the security infrastructure, it’s a case of “if you mess with fire, you’re going to get burned”. The media bears a huge responsibility for stoking that fire and the way in which the internet can now be used to incite riots and demonstrations around the globe within hours of any incident taking place is frightening. Often the masses are on the streets protesting before even the most basic facts have been established.
When it comes to the Middle East,
there is certainly disproportionate news coverage. The situation in Darfur, Zimbabwe or Tibet is given scant coverage in comparison. And there have been few demonstrators prepared to march, on site, against the actions of the Sudanese, Zimbabwean or Chinese military. Perhaps, in Israel’s case, it is because we expect better from a democracy with its own history of suffering. Yet this is war. As Colonel Richard Kemp, former head of the British forces in Afghanistan, pointed out in a recent interview, “Look at what appears
to have been a very serious military error made by the German army in Northern Afghanistan last year when something like 50-150 civilians were killed in an air strike.” How much international condemnation? How many demonstrations in the world’s capital cities? Not a lot and precious few. None of this justifies Israeli excesses, which the Israeli government needs to investigate and be transparent about. However, the problem with security is that, however much we wish it was otherwise, the actions of the few spoil it for the majority. We require rigorous measures in order to safeguard our way of life from those whose agenda is extremist in nature. There is a reason why El Al has not been successfully attacked since 1968; their response, however unpalatable for many, is based on common sense and an acceptance of the reality of the world we live in. It is also true that, if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. That’s why I begrudgingly accept the need for a host of unnecessary measure at airports – I have nothing to hide.
“
...the number of genuinely threatening passengers is very small. Because of them, however, we all submit ourselves to scrutiny...”
True, I wish that some of those measures
were replaced with a modicum of common sense and I dream of the day when the global aviation industry comes to its senses and ceases its capitulation to the ridiculous claims that “it’s not fair” to differentiate. Terrorism is not fair. The use of humanitarian vessels by groups linked with al Qaeda is not fair. Poverty, suffering and occupation are not fair. Life’s not always fair...but we have to make it as secure as we can so that we can enjoy the freedoms we are afforded. The industry and those who regulate it must start to open their eyes (and web browsers) to the reality of the world we live in...
June 2010 Aviationsecurityinternational
www.asi-mag.com
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