In my post yesterday about terrorists and profiling (or lack thereof) I said:
I guess the US Homeland Security uses the old cliche about ‘preventing the previous attack instead of the next one’ as its founding principle.
The best example proving this, is the fact that security in airports is tightened to an insane level (no toothpaste allowed?!), while you can still board a train packed with many hundreds of people with a suitcase full of explosives without anyone even glancing at you.
Unfortunately, a train will be eventually targeted by terrorists in the US… it’s inevitable. The tightened security on trains which will follow will be as useless as remembering to put a helmet on your head when you’re lying in the hospital after smashing it in a bike accident.
As long as you look exclusively for bad stuff (instead of the bad people), you will be taxing the innocent people for yesterday’s attacks while providing a very accommodating environment for tomorrow’s attacks.