The primary problem is, when they reassure us, we are reassured.

I would suggest that your anger is best directed towards the enemies of this country.  Hindsight is 20/20.  We always seek to assign blame on the presumption that our government can protect us from even the unthinkable.  It can't. I would wonder however how many other attacks never happened because of good work by our government?

I would suggest that all the warning signs, alerts etc, would not be taken seriously without a critical event having taken place.  There were warning signs before Pearl Harbor but they went largely unheaded except for a little extra vigillence.  Noone expected a whole fleet within striking distance.  I would venture that we should look to the future instead of trying to lay blame for what has already passed.

Given enough time and distance and lasting domestic peace, it will happen again, and our descendants will again be surprised.  Someone will always challenge the big guy on the block if only to prove to himself that it was a stupid thing to do.  Our level of response to this attack was not expected, nor was its level of success.  

Who is to Blame?:



Yup!



Uh huh!



Yahtzee!



Nope.... but you forgot:

A poorly run, overly bureaucratic federal agency known as the INS. Which now thanks to recent legislation (I think it passed, didn't it?) will be replaced by [b]TWO[/b] poorly run, overly bureaucratic federal agencies to protect our borders and monitor visitors.

Who else is to blame?:

The CEO's of the major airlines, The Secretary of Transportation, and our Homeland Security Director for bowing to PC pressure and cost saving airplane construction that has left cockpits un-hardened and flight crews un-armed.

In the many cases of "Air Rage" the persons are rarely convicted or punished and being famous gives you a right to deficate on food service carts in flight like a phucking monkey at a zoo.

Pilots and flight attendants are left with little more than Zip-ties and a crash axe to deal with these people (not to mention in one case I know of a Crash axe was used to attempt to break a cockpit window by a pilot after a crash and the axe head sheared from the handle... great weapon eh?).

[b]I BLAME OUR GOVERNMENT!!![/b] I blame them for not knowing what was coming in a sea of intelligence information. I blame them for failing to allow flightcrews (and even passengers) the RIGHT to self defense and self preservation. I blame them for failing to fix any of these apparent lapses even AFTER the horrific events of 9/11/01. The cockpits are no safer than they were pre 9/11. They are not any better defended, nor hardened (I've seen these flimsy reinforcement bars first hand). The airports are no safer than they were pre 9/11 and the idea that a few National Guard guys standing there will somehow deter a hijacker is absurd (not ragging on our Guard guys here... just the principle behind their deployment). This is all just "feel good" security and mostly just a hassle.

"The bullet may strike a critical component and cause the plane to crash."

Modern commercial aircraft are built very redudant with at least one and often two back-up systems should one fail or be damaged.

"A stray bullet may strike and injure/kill a passenger."

And the alternative of allowing a 767 to be used as a guided ballistic missle into a skyscraper is better?

"The pilot needs to be focused on flying the plane."

Much agreed but that's why there are two. One will fly the plane to the nearest suitable airport. The other will turn and face the door and shoot ANYONE that trys to enter.

"A bullet hole could cause the plane to rapidly decompress and suck people out of the plane."

Only if you're flying over the city limits of Hollywood, CA. Otherwise bullet holes cannot cause enough damage to be catastrophic to the aircrafts structure.

Your last line says it all.  ALL security is there to act as a PRESENCE.  Unless there at least is the option and the overt threat of force of arms, security is ONLY a presence.  I keep trying to explain to people that the feeling safety is just that - a feeling.  You are not safe, and the safer you think you are, the less safe you really are.  It usually degenerates into a "gunth are thlimy and thcary!" level of intelligence, and ends in a "I need to go lay down, this scares me too much" conclusion.

I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the American people.  As long as the loudest voices are plaintively begging for protection, and asking "Why won't you protect me?", the government will respond in a manner consistent to those who need to feel somebody else is protecting them.

As long as the people feel the need to reason with criminals and to understand their feelings and their abused childhood, nothing will change.

As long as the people feel that responding to criminal behavior with force of arms is being insensitive, nothing will change.

As long as the people believe that objects are the cause of crime, nothing will change.

As long as that law abiding people are afraid to confront criminal behavior for fear of lawsuits, nothing will change.

As long as the people do not drop the hammer without hesitation on those who hurt others without provocation, nothing will change.

The terrorist are to blame.

Very few Americans are going to stand for one tenth of one percent of what it will take to make this a mommy state where all are kept and protected. Hell there are people here who bitch because they have to show ID to enter an airplane and wear seat belts.

When random police road blocks are set up, when mandatory phone and Internet mail taps are put in place on everyone, when a national ID card is instituted with bio-metrics, when monitored and approved church services, and when door-to-door searches start the country will only be slightly safer and the terrorist will have won.

See, they hate this country for the freedom that we have. The freedom to practice any (or no) religion at all. For our women to wear anything (or nothing) at all. The freedom to do a thousand things that are prohibited by their oppressive religious state. And when the people give up freedoms for security it is the death of this country.

Destroy the enemy completely, hang the bastards in the public square, burn their homes, salt their fields, slaughter their animals, make the terrorist of the future see and understand what awaits the next set of turds that attack our country.