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Airport bombing calls attention to security loop holes
By Lorena
By Rafael Crescancio
Published: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Recent updates to normal transportation security routines, including the addition of full body scanners and pat-downs, have left Americans with feelings of frustration and personal violation. However, protesters should consider the value of the lives protected by these measures. The recent terrorist attack on a Moscow airport has proved that the increases in airport security are completely necessary.
According to The New York Times, a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people and wounded 180 in the baggage claim area of Domodedovo International Airport on Jan. 24. Domodedovo is located 14 miles southeast of Moscow and is the largest and busiest of Moscow's three airports. Fox News reports that federal investigators know the identity of the bomber, a 20-year-old native of the volatile Caucasus region, where for years Muslim insurgents have been battling for a separate state.
This attack poses a major challenge to the Islamic community, which continually tries to dissociate itself from the radical and extremist Muslim terrorists that conduct these attacks. Aside from the religious overtone of this attack, it has become stunningly clear that the worldwide community still has a long way to go in terms of creating complete transportation security.
According to CNN, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev blamed the security officers of the Domodedovo Airport and demanded resignation of those responsible for transportation safety. "What happened at Domodedovo," Medvedev said, "shows the airport lacked security. It is unbelievable that such a huge amount of explosives were brought into the terminal."
Though the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and new technological innovations, revolutionized how countries around the world deal with terrorists and threats, the system still has major loopholes. This attack serves as an example of one, as the baggage claim area was unsecured, making it a viable target for terrorism.
However, according to Domodedovo Airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova, the airport claims that the security officials should not be blamed for the explosion because they "are in full compliance with all safety requirements of air transportation by which [they] are responsible." If an armed man could make his way into an airport, clearly these "requirements" still need to be expanded for the security employees.
Amidst cries of "racial profiling" and "Fourth Amendment rights violations" in the U.S., the seriousness of this recent attack shows that lives are at risk. The U.S. has already suffered from multiple terrorist attacks. A close analysis of the Moscow case may be able to help prevent other terrorist attacks on American soil in the future. Controlling dangerous combatants is a difficult task, however, in a country as developed as Russia, lax airport security, even in the baggage claim area, is unacceptable.
In light of the recent debate over full body scanning in airports, the devastating Moscow terrorist attack proves the importance of stringent security. The argument that these security practices violate personal privacy rights seems trivial in comparison to the deaths of 35 people. While airport security may be inconvenient and increasingly invasive, one must consider the greater implications that may come from lax or insufficient security measures at airports.
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