Deploying the Anti-Terror Clue-Bat

I'm not going to write about the attacks in Belgium at Zaventem airport and a metro station. The story is still developing.

What I am going to discuss is what I heard some "terrorism analyst" say. It was something along the lines of "since the terrorist(s) blew up their suicide bombs in the departure area, we should move the security checkpoint outside of the airport".

My jaw dropped at that. The target of the terrorists wasn't the airport itself, it was the people in the airport. Look at the headlines: "At Least 31 People Killed". The terrorists are trying to reap maximum carnage.

What happens if the security checkpoint is moved off-airport? You know that they aren't going to build six of them for each airport. They'll build one or two because it's cheaper to do that. Which means that there will be masses of people congregating at the checkpoint. Lots of people at the off-airport checkpoint will make that, well, I think you get the point.

Will they then limit that to "ticketed passengers only"? There will have to be massive fleets of buses or trams to move passengers and all of their bags between the airport and the checkpoint, unless they also set up baggage check-in and pickup outside of the new checkpoint. Which will create another inviting target for the terrorists.

How will they handle the passengers who are being picked up or dropped off by friends? Where will the passengers wait for that-- out in the wind, rain, heat and cold, or will they build enclosed waiting areas? What about the parking garages that likely would then be inside the security perimeter? What do they do about older airports, such as Midway, where a highway runs right by the terminal building?

What we will see, in the coming days and weeks, will be large amounts of Classic Security Theater, measures that inconvenience vast numbers of people, give the illusion of something being done and accomplish nothing. Because all of the anti-terror analysts and talking heads have to protect their rice bowls.

Yep, something will be done, all right.

And, of course, the usual politicians and candidates will be out doing their usual bit of demagoguing. Another time on that topic, maybe.