Counter Terrorism Committee
Global Aviation Security
Global aviation security has become immensely pertinent in the wake of several attempted attacks by hijackers and terrorists in the past few years. Especially with this past year's attempted bombing on a flight from the United Kingdom to Detroit, Michigan, aviation security is becoming ever more scrutinized. Until recently, the U.S. and other western nations have had to battle primarily aspiring terrorists — people with grand plans for an attack but with little ability to actually carry them out. The U.K. has had more incidents with operational terrorists — people who have trained for an attack and have the actual skills and resources to see it through. But U.S. officials say that changed back in September after arresting Najibullah Zazi, the Denver man accused of wanting to blow up transportation targets in New York. Zazi allegedly trained in Al-Qaida camps, learning how to make explosives, and when he returned to the states, tested them and was ready to launch an attack. However, even a person with little or no military training can destroy a plane with a small amount of explosives. Attacking flights perfectly embodies the rationale of "martyrdom operations", which – as Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, once said – are "the most successful way of inflicting damage against the opponent and the least costly to the mujahideen in casualties".
Due to airplanes being an ideal and vulnerable place for terrorist attacks, aviation security must be tightened. In addition to calling pilots on the intercom, airlines and security experts for years have debated the idea of providing cabin crews with additional ways to warn pilots about potential threats from passengers. Video cameras, wireless alerting devices, or some type of discreet alarm switch have all been discussed as remedies. This most recent incident is also bound to renew debate over the effectiveness of the current system of international "no-fly" lists, aimed at identifying passengers with terrorist connections and keeping them off airliners around the globe. So far, the Federal Aviation Administration and many airlines have been resisting such mandates, arguing they are expensive and unnecessary. In addition, the sharing of information between the law enforcement agencies of different nations, full body scan technologies, and personal profiling have been gaining much attention. For the safety of our skies, global aviation security must be drastically improved.