Babe's Eye View article

If there’s one thing that Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab succeeded in doing, he has just made traveling to the United States even more difficult. His failed attempt to bomb a US-bound Northwest Airlines flight last Christmas has prompted the US Transportation Security Administration to conduct tighter security checks for travelers particularly from 14 countries that sponsor terrorism or are considered as security risks such as Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen.

Luckily, the Philippines is not yet included in this list, but we’re almost there. Philippine government authorities must continue to be vigilant and cooperate with the US because as clearly shown, terrorism continues to be present in this country. As a matter of fact, in the new book by American law professor Ken Gromley titled: The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs Starr, he disclosed that former US president Bill Clinton almost got assassinated in Manila during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 1996.

According to Gromley, Clinton was on his way to visit a local politician when Secret Service agents intercepted a “crackly message” with the words “bridge” and “wedding,” a terrorist code for assassination. The convoy quickly rerouted and US agents later found a bomb planted under a bridge that Clinton’s car would have passed through. Subsequent investigation confirmed the plot was masterminded by Osama bin Laden himself.

Pakistani terrorist Ramzi Yousef, convicted for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, also admitted that he planned to assassinate Clinton but was deterred by the high level of security. His uncle Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who is serving time for his role in numerous terrorist bombings and had lived in the Philippines between 1994 and 1995, had also planned to kill Clinton.

Gromley also revealed the discovery of two bombs in Manila, although these were linked to communists rather than a plot to assassinate Clinton. It is no wonder then that when Bush visited Manila in October 2003, he cut his stay to eight hours and had an advance team of 300 Secret Service agents—with close to $25 million American taxpayer dollars spent for that brief stopover. American media commentators though are wondering why the Secret Service has kept mum about the Clinton assassination attempt, bolstering speculations that the US intelligence community’s lapses are making it difficult to contain terrorism particularly from al-Qaeda operatives.

Barack Obama had accepted responsibility for the intelligence lapse that allowed Abdulmutallab to board a US-bound plane, saying “the buck stops with me.” While heads have not rolled so far, an initial review indicates a systemic failure to “synthesize” leads that should have alerted authorities about the potential threat posed by the 23-year-old Nigerian.

New stringent rules and regulations will be implemented to acquire US visas, making it more difficult for those applying for the first time. US-bound passengers especially from the 14 countries in the security risk list will also be subjected to pat-downs, prolonged baggage checks and will be separated by gender, with the waiting time a minimum of three hours—resulting in very long lines in various airports all over the world.

Paranoia is certainly creeping in, as seen in the lockdown of a terminal and the evacuation of passengers at the Newark International Airport because a man entered a secure area without getting screened. Such incidents have strengthened calls for more sophisticated explosive-detection and advanced imaging technologies such as those that use electromagnetic waves to create a 3-D image and X-rays that show both sides of the body. In-flight air marshals will also be deployed on every US-bound flight.

But the more controversial measure is the use of full-body scanners which civil libertarians criticize as invasive because they violate a person’s privacy. These scanners can capture images under one’s clothes—the use of which would have shown the explosive sewn in the Nigerian’s underwear. Major US airports already use full-body scanners and hundreds more will be delivered at airports all over the US.

The US will also require full-body scanners in airports throughout the world to secure US-bound flights. The Philippines will have to get these $250,000 equipment—which will certainly make a lot of people, especially the women, feel naked because the machines can see through clothes and reveal the most intimate parts of a person’s anatomy.

Former Israeli agent and book author Juval Aviv, on whom the movie "Munich" was based, had been warning about potential attacks against the US. In a 2007 interview with Fox Central, he said attackers will target rural areas, sending the message that Americans are not protected. Although a circulated e-mail that details supposed advice coming from the CEO of Interfor (a New York-based investigative and intelligence firm) has been tagged as bogus, the contents are nevertheless gripping: the next weapons of terrorism are suicide bombers and young terrorists educated in American universities—and these will be the most dangerous because they will know the language and habits of Americans.

A 2006 novel entitled: Terrorist by John Updike talks about an 18-year-old boy from New Jersey who gets recruited into terrorism by a Yemeni imam. Reviews were not euphoric, but the book once again shows that truth can be stranger than fiction, as seen in the example of the well-educated, wealthy young Nigerian turned radical al-Qaeda extremist.

Osama bin laden has certainly succeeded in changing the lives of more than five billion travelers all over the world. Gone are the carefree, freewheeling days when travelers could simply breeze through the airport—because suspicion, fear and paranoia now hound every passenger traveling to the United States.