Security Theatre

Here is Barack Obama speaking:

A full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism and we will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable.

Here is George Bush speaking:

I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, I recall, that says, "Wanted: Dead or Alive.

I'm so tired of US presidents posturing in front of the cameras claiming they are going to move heaven and earth to get the "bad guys" when in fact they spend billions on "security theatre" and unnecessary wars. The whole thing is a joke. I had expected something better from Obama, but it looks like he is just another tin horn sheriff who poses for the cameras boasting he is going to "get" the bad guys. Instead of words, what the world needs is steely determination, consistent effort over time, and speaking through action not words.

As for the Detroit airplane terrorist:

All the screening, lists, pat downs, metal detectors, bag checking, etc. are a joke. Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab flew from Lago Nigeria through the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on to Detroit.

Guess which international airport was the first to have the millimeter wave scanners? From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_high_frequency#Security_screening

Three security scanners using millimeter waves were put into use at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on 15 May 2007, with more expected to be installed later. The passenger's head is masked from the view of the security personnel.

So all this expensive high tech gadgetry is useless. Sure the millimeter wave scanner sees through clothes, but ultimately it is a human being watching the imagery and if they fall asleep or don't recognize what they see, the whole system is useless. The big machine become a "show" to convince people that the government is serious about terrorism. Well... it doesn't work. This guy came right through the screening!

Update 2009dec30: Here is a bit from an essay by Bruce Schneier:

Terrorism is rare, far rarer than many people think. It's rare because very few people want to commit acts of terrorism, and executing a terrorist plot is much harder than television makes it appear.

The best defenses against terrorism are largely invisible: investigation, intelligence, and emergency response. But even these are less effective at keeping us safe than our social and political policies, both at home and abroad. However, our elected leaders don't think this way: They are far more likely to implement security theater against movie-plot threats.

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"Security theater" refers to security measures that make people feel more secure without doing anything to actually improve their security. An example: the photo ID checks that have sprung up in office buildings. No one has ever explained why verifying that someone has a photo ID provides any actual security, but it looks like security to have a uniformed guard-for-hire looking at ID cards.