Profile Of A Moron

A phenomenal amount of shite has been written and spoken since the dismantling of an alleged terrorist plot at Heathrow last week. But Lord Stevens in the New of the World wins my award. Seeking to keep our airplanes safe while avoiding huge delays caused by the stringent security procedures (and these delays continue to dominate the headlines, probably because journalists worry that they themselves will be affected) he recommends 'passenger profiling'. Namely, only men of Asian or North African appearance should be searched rigorously. Because they're the only ones who have been involved in bombing plots to date, so will presumably be the only ones who ever will be. The only problems Lord Stevens anticipates with his plan is liberals bleating accusations of racism.

Well, I'm a liberal and I'd like to bleat an accusation of racism. Mainly because the plan is, in fact, racist. I've another problem with it too, however. Islam is a largely racially based religion But it's quite sucessful at finding new converts from various walks of life. Jemima Khan and Muhammad Ali, for example, would slip through this meticulous 'profiling.' And the recently converted are more likely to be amongst the most fanatical. Any 'Muslim' psychotics would be delighted if Lord Stevens' cack-handed plan was implemented. They'd just have to find a particularly white or black fellow psycho, load him up with explosives and be fairly sure he'd pass through airline security unchallenged. Lord Stevens doesn't seem to consider this. He does mention that Israel uses passenger profiling "and they've got probably the safest airports and airlines in the world". Something which must be of great comfort to the people of Haifa right now.

Lord Stevens, incidentally, used to be Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. One reassurance during these unsettling times is that he no longer is.