On my last flight to Israel and from Israel on an American carrier we were told that Israeli regulations demand that passenger remain in their seats during the last hour of the flight. Had the US instituted similar precautions, those on the flight would not have owed their lives to pure luck and passenger courage.
Why the last hour? Because that is the only way terrorists can insure that their terrorist act will be perceived as such. There is no point in blowing up an airplane if no one needs to acknowledge they did it.
Even as is, Al Qaeda happily takes credit for the closs call. It had successfully refocus attention on it’s own ability to outsmart American authorities. What a terrific recruiting tool for the British radical Imams whose students, at least 25 in number, are at this very moment busy training in similar ways to get to heaven.
