Representatives from small states refused to allocate funding on the basis of the possible threats instead opting to join in on federal funding to prevent terrorism. This gives states like Wyoming with virtually no threat twice as much funding per capita than New York state. This is a national disgrace.

Special emphasis was placed on the lack of airline passenger cargo luggage screening where apparently little has been done. The words “luggage screening” serves to mask the real problem here. The difference between passenger carryon luggage and cargo luggage is that during the flight the passenger has access to his carryon luggage and can retrieve a weapon. Screening for carryon luggage must be for weapons and bombs while screening for cargo luggage need only be for bombs. The problem I have with “screening” cargo luggage is that it implies the use of special screening equipment which is expensive difficult to maintain and requires enough of the units to protect all cargo luggage at all the major airports. Bomb screening by machines requires new technologies only recently discovered making the screening extremely difficult and very expensive.

I recommend the use of bomb sniffing dogs used by the Israelis for years. The dogs are much more reliable and efficient than any machine nailed down to the floor. No new elaborate rerouting of cargo luggage would be required at the airports. The dogs are simply brought to the luggage just before it is loaded on the aircraft.

The 9-11 Commission seamed to focus on the past high-jacking of airliners and the use of them as bombs. The fact is that terrorists easily move on to softer targets especially now that cockpit doors have been beefed-up, are lockable and there are air marshals aboard many flights. The goal of the terrorists is to kill as many Americans as possible. We know this by the accounts of proposed attacks using bombs in New York City where the time of day was picked in order to kill as many people as possible just walking in the street.

Dispensing with the hard targets such as the President, Congress and government buildings we can focus on the softer targets which remain. I would also include the high-jacking of airlines as a hard target. Now what targets do we have left? The most likely is any large public gathering place that is a part of routine daily activities. These include all major airline terminals, Grand Central Station New York City, subway stations, passenger ships, airliners and any skyscraper office building.
Large sports events such as the Super Bowl fits the category for a large number of deaths but may be considered to be a hard target due to the added security. A second reason is that terrorists seem to want to have the opportunity to practice the bombing beforehand as was done in the bombing of the London Subway.

Since airliner high-jacking is now considered unlikely the mode of attack will probably be by a truck bomb. Suicide bombers would have to be brought into the country and for this reason are considered less likely but still a threat. Here the main defense is at the entrance to major airport terminals where thousands of commuters are standing in line is the placement of blast deflectors supplemented by the use of bomb sniffing dogs.

Here is my recommendations which I have made elsewhere for providing bomb sniffing dogs. We should take an abandoned military base probably in Texas and dedicate it to the training of dogs. The National Guard from each state would have their own K-9 corps and would receive training at the base. Airport and other security guards would also receive training there.

This note on dogs they are so sensitive they can be trained to detect cancer in humans even that missed by x-ray and other screenings.