Gene Gene, the Scanning Machine!

In a howler of a column WaPo's Eugene Robinson claims the TSA is being "unfairly maligned" for the way it goes about its job of protecting us.

Last Christmas, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to bring down an airliner by detonating explosives concealed in his underwear. The device did not properly explode, but the incident sensitized the TSA to the danger of terrorist bombs that might make it past a metal detector -- hence the rush to install full-body scanners that give a clear view of what's beneath a person's clothing, junk and all.

Whoa. The crazy thing about the Abdulmutallab case was not that we had the technology to prevent him from boarding a plane but didn't put it in place. The crazy thing about that case was that Umar's OWN FATHER warned authorities that his son was a threat, a possible Al Qaeda operative, and STILL he was allowed to board a jetliner headed for America.

Instead of acting on actionable human intelligence in Africa, the response of Homeland Security is to start body scanning grandmothers in Omaha. What is wrong with this picture? Nothing, according to Robinson.

After citing the Al Qaeda's failed attempt to send bombs to America loaded in copy machine catridges, Robinson concludes, "
these AQAP people are resourceful and determined." They are also fairly easy to identify in so far as they come from a very specific couple of places in the world.

Incredibly, Robinson goes on to pooh pooh profiling (as if profiling was even needed in the Abdulmutallab case) as a "civil rights" violation without seeming to notice he's asking millions of flyers to give up a a real constitutional right against unreasonable searches.

Then there's this gem:

Now, we could decide that treating air-traveling Americans like Guantanamo inmates is going too far -- that by doing so, we invest a bunch of terrorists with power they do not deserve.

Got it?

In order not to invest a bunch of terrorists (terrorists just a paragraph earlier he was calling "resourceful and determined") with power they do not deserve we must treat the air-traveling public like Guantanamo inmates. Logic demands it!

So don't blame Janet Napolitano for her efforts.

After all, if terrorists are clever enough to hide powerful explosives in ink cartridges, then eventually they'll find a suicide bomber who looks just like you, me or Granny.

Eugene just doesn't get it.

When it comes to suicide bombers, it isn't about looks. It's about location and behavior.

Sheesh!

Robinson doesn't get, but Ramirez does...