To profile or not to profile: that is the question

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Bruce Schneier’s blog on security is wonderfully thought provoking.

Yesterday he provided an interesting quiz:

In 1985, Air India Flight 182 was blown up over the Atlantic by:

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Bill O’Reilly
c. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
d. Indian Sikh extremists, in retaliation for the Indian Army’s attack on the Golden Temple shrine in Amritsar

In 1986, who attempted to smuggle three pounds of explosives onto an El Al jetliner bound from London to Tel Aviv?

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Michael Smerconish
c. Bob Mould
d. A pregnant Irishwoman named Anne Murphy

In 1962, in the first-ever successful sabotage of a commercial jet, a Continental Airlines 707 was blown up with dynamite over Missouri by:

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Ann Coulter
c. Henry Rollins
d. Thomas Doty, a 34-year-old American passenger, as part of an insurance scam

In 1994, who nearly succeeding in skyjacking a DC-10 and crashing it into the Federal Express Corp. headquarters?

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Michelle Malkin
c. Charlie Rose
d. Auburn Calloway, an off-duty FedEx employee and resident of Memphis, Tenn.

In 1974, who stormed a Delta Air Lines DC-9 at Baltimore-Washington Airport, intending to crash it into the White House, and shot both pilots?

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Joe Scarborough
c. Spalding Gray
d. Samuel Byck, an unemployed tire salesman from Philadelphia

The answer, in all cases, is D.

Worth reading is the discussion of why Israel’s airline security won’t work in the U.S. (ad click required). Also of particular interest is the comments section. Bruce’s commenters are generally thoughtful and intelligent. Take a few moments to drop by his place.

I still think profiling can work and I still think the TSA is one of the worst bureaucracies ever spawned. Completely ineffectual, unless you think cattle herding is an important facet of airline security.