Do you hate taking off your shoes to get through airport security? You can thank Richard Reid for that.
In late 2001 the US was still trying to process 9/11. The use of airliners as missiles of destruction was a novel terrorist MO and the deaths of 3,000 people was still unfathomable. Over the subsequent months US airports were flush with armed US soldiers (I traveled to San Francisco in November 2001 and was struck by how many troops I saw in the terminal).
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies were on high alert for possible repeat attacks. I was at CSIS at the time and there was a real sense of forewarning that 9/11 was just the beginning. More incidents were on their way.
We were right.
Attempted ‘shoebomber’ attack on an American Airlines flight
Two and a half months later, on December 22, 2001, a convert to Islam, Richard Reid, boarded a Paris to Miami American Airlines flight at Charles de Gaulle airport and shortly after the meal had been served tried to detonate plastic explosives in his shoes. Passengers smelled the matches he used and subdued him: an on-board doctor gave him a tranquiliser to knock him out.
It is believed that rainy weather may have affected his device. It is also possible that sweaty feet may have played a role. Thank god for lousy foot care!
Reid was a UK citizen who converted to Islam while in prison for petty crimes. He later traveled to Afghanistan where it is believed he contacted Al Qaeda (AQ). He pleaded guilty to eight charges (attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder of passengers on an aircraft, and attempted homicide of US nationals overseas) and was sentenced in 2003 to life in prison.
Our reaction to the failed attack has been pronounced. From that day forward we have all had to take off our shoes when going through airport security. While in some places that requirement has been relaxed I have noticed that anyone wearing thick-soled footwear is asked to take them off.
Maybe taking off our shoes at airport security is a small inconvenience in the name of safety. We should be thankful no one has tried to stuff a bomb in his underwear!
That we still do this two decades later worries me for two primary reasons. First, it indicates that airport authorities are not confident that their scanners can pick up traces of explosives (can they?). Second, we implemented these precautions AFTER we dodged a bullet back in 2001. In other words, our security practices change in response to older terrorist tactics, but do not predict future ones.
I know that terrorists are coming up with novel ways to defeat our defences and kill as many of us as possible. They have the advantage as their imaginations usually require little in the way of resources. Our protectors, on the other hand, have to prepare for all eventualities and have only so much time, money and people to stop them.
Maybe taking off our shoes at airport security is a small inconvenience in the name of safety. We should be thankful no one has tried to stuff a bomb in his underwear!
Um, wait, someone has. But that is for another blog.
