The need for enhanced security within domestic as well as international airlines can no longer be an issue for debate. Bearing in mind the security threats that Americans and their interests all over the world are faced with, it is imperative that deliberate federal measures in terms of appropriate legislation be put in place to enhance the security of people while travelling (Shane, 2007).
Of particular interest is the security within airlines operating within the country as well as across borders.
Although many reasons might be cited for new measures, however controversial, to be put in place to enhance airlines security, the main reason is the 9/11 terrorists attack which sadly happened because airline pilots failed to overpower the hijackers of their respective planes (Carafano, 2007).
After it, many incidents have happened, further exposing the country to danger. This paper argues for the passage of legislation that would legalize the arming of airline pilots so that they can protect themselves and their passengers in order that incidents like 9/11 could be averted.
Post 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: the Likelihood of Occurrence A key starting point for this issue is to evaluate the threat levels that airlines in particular and American citizens and interests in general are faced with. An accurate and succinct evaluation of the federal government’s level of preparedness after 9/11 suggest that there is a higher threat of another attack of the same nature than at any other time (Shane, 2007).
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The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the passage by Congress of a number of legislations aimed at giving security agencies more power to access information regarding suspected terrorists are just enough indicators that there is a possibility of a repeat of the 9/11 incidents (Shane, 2007).
That aside, airlines have been subjected to more security requirements, and travel advisories by the federal government against certain suspected individuals particularly of Middle Eastern and African descent point to the fears that threats to airlines are not over.
Likewise, the banning of direct flights by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to certain cities and the denial of landing rights to some international airlines indicate that a terror threat of the 9/11 kind cannot be ruled out. From the available facts, airlines have seemingly become an easy target for terrorist groups because there is less resistance on board from pilots or their crew (Shane, 2007).
Thus, it is highly likely that airlines, particularly passenger ones, can be targeted again for possible use in terror attacks.
Given the trends mentioned above and the obvious vulnerability that airline passengers and crew are exposed to whenever they are in mid-flight, it is imperative that some kind of armor be carried on board airlines to be used for defense against possible attacks by terrorists (Faludi, 2007).
Quite often than not, the idea of arming any other people on board an aircraft (passengers or the crew) has been viewed as too dangerous. There remain, then, only the pilots to be armed.
The weapons must not be the kinds that are highly explosive such as ordinary firearms as this can cause danger to other passengers (Shane, 2007).
Instead, there could be some special form of armor which only explodes when it comes under intense pressure. For instance, frangible bullets which are made of highly compressed and powdered alloys can be used because they have the capacity to destroy human tissue but are highly unlikely to do any serious damage to the fuselage.
In addition, such devices cannot cause depressurization problems and so can be safely used in mid-air against potential terrorists. Incidents of attempted airline attacks have been reported in different places since 9/11 and serves as a pointer that terrorists are not done yet with using airlines to attack their preferred targets. The most recent case, coming about eight nears since 9/11, involved a Nigerian man who had successfully managed to bring explosives on board an American airliner during the 2009 Christmas (Shane, 2007).
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This incident ought to serve as a last warning to those opposed to arming pilots because had the devices exploded, then more lives would have been lost because of mistakes that could otherwise have been avoided. While the man never tried to hijack the airliner, the fact that he was with explosives on board means that he was more powerful than any other person on board and would have done as he wished. What made matters worse is that although the man was blacklisted as not worthy allowing on board any airliner, he managed to get on board legally (Carafano, 2007).
It means that other security checks for airlines are likely to fail at any time and the only way to protect passengers in mid-flight is to have pilots armed. In fact the mere knowledge by would-be hijackers and terrorists that pilots are armed would in itself deter them from making daring attacks as has been witnessed in past incidents (Faludi, 2007).
The aim is to ensure that pilots are the most powerful people on board and can act to defend other passengers in case of any danger.
Post 9/11 War on Terror Apart from the incidents that have happened directly involving airlines, there is the even wider threat to Americans which has been occasioned by the country’s firm stance of terrorism, including the global war it is leading on terror (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 2004).
Today, Americans are more exposed not only when in this country but wherever they are.
Islamic militants in the Middle East and North Africa as well as their sympathizers elsewhere are working around the clock to ensure that they attack US interests using any means possible owing to the US’s war on terror which has shaken some of their bases and not a few of their leading figures. They are therefore out on a revenge mission and are taking no chances. Given that the government has vowed to win this war on terror, it ought to ensure that it closes all loopholes even as it goes on the offensive (Faludi, 2007).
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Today more than ever before, US airlines are exposed to the greatest danger of attack by armed militants (Faludi, 2007).
Aside from Al-Qaeda, terrorist groups like Hezbollah which in the past have had no real reason to attack in the United States might now have a good reason to do just that. This is because their allies and financiers are being hunted down by the US. Therefore, airlines travelling to and coming from countries like Lebanon, UAE, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and many other nations with a high Muslim population are so much a threat to American airlines as they are to its troops in Iraq and elsewhere in the world (Carafano, 2007).
Conclusion
Owing to the ever-rising security threats that Americans are becoming expose to after 9/11, it has become imperative that airlines, the most likely targets for terrorists because they travel to many different destinations both within and outside the US, be protected fully from such possible danger by arming their pilots. From incidents happening after 9/11, it has been proven that Americans and their interests are more insecure than ever before. The only remaining measure to put in place is to arm pilots so they can defend their passengers. Such a move can go a long way in reducing security threats to the country and its people.
