International travel by air is now something to be endured rather than enjoyed. In principle the enhanced personal security checks and the limitations on what can be taken aboard airliners are there for the protection of all passengers. But the principle runs the serious risk of abuse. The latest US restrictions introduced in the wake of the failed Christmas Day suicide bombing on an Amsterdam to Detroit flight by a Nigerian, seem doomed to be misused.
The 14 “terror-linked” countries whose citizens have been singled out for enhanced security treatment, such as body image scans, include Saudi Arabia. There are also four states which Washington rates as “sponsors of terrorism” — Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. With the exception of Cuba all are Muslim countries.
Once again the hateful conflation of the two words “terrorist” and “Muslim” is being rolled out. Saudis traveling to the United States experienced the full effect of this purblind judgment in the wake of the 9/11 atrocity. The treatment of many of our citizens by US immigration officials, who already enjoyed an unenviable worldwide reputation for rudeness and aggression, was a scandal. The deep sense of injustice engendered by official behavior was only borne thanks to the immense sorrow that all decent Saudis felt at the horrible truth that 11 of the 19 mass murderers were from the Kingdom.
It might have been hoped US Transport Security Administration would have learned something from the mistakes made in 2001. However it seems not to be the case. There are already reports of Muslims being subjected to further degrading treatment, including being made to strip and endure intrusive personal searches. Even as long ago as last June, US immigration officials strip-searched a Pakistani linen merchant. The fact that this treatment yielded nothing untoward points to the harsh reality that the US functionary who decided on ordering the check was going on no other evidence than the man’s skin and his religion.
And herein lies a greater danger. Though full-body scanners are being rushed into use at airports, security officials do not believe that technology is the only answer. X-ray machines that could examine a suspect for explosives actually within their body are impractical for mass use and hazardous to both public and operator. They are therefore resorting to “profiling.”
This technique conceals a multitude of pitfalls. The US logic has it that there is no point suspecting a 70-year-old white grandmother from Wisconsin. But a Muslim passenger with a brown skin immediately deserves closer attention. It doesn’t matter how you cut it, this is little short of racism. And it does not wash to claim that all Al-Qaeda fanatics are Muslims. All the Baader-Meinhoff terrorists, at their most deadly in the 1970s, were young left-wing Germans. Yet neither Europe nor indeed the United States introduced draconian immigration checks on every young German left-winger.
Security is crucial for everyone — not just Americans. However, what matters is how sensitively and respectfully the necessarily increased vigilance is implemented.
