Purge the liquid and laptop ghosts of Rashid Rauf and Ibrahim al Asiri
Tom Rogan
Video Embed
Rashid Rauf and Ibrahim al Asiri may not have succeeded in their efforts to bring down passenger airliners, but both of these al Qaeda terrorists were killed in U.S. drone strikes (Rauf in 2008 and al Asiri in 2017).
Still, as Americans start traveling for the Christmas holiday season, Rauf and al Asiri’s ghosts will be haunting them. They do so via the checkpoint requirements imposed by the Transportation Security Administration at U.S. airports.
CONGRESS LOOKS TO AVOID YEAR-END FAA FIGHT AS AVIATION SAFETY CONCERNS HOLD UP DEAL
In Rauf’s case, it’s the restrictions as to how much liquid we’re allowed to carry on board a plane. Specifically, Rauf’s role in the 2006 trans-Atlantic plot to bring down at least six passenger airliners over the Atlantic Ocean or U.S. cities. Rauf’s plot involved the recruitment of U.K.-based al Qaeda operatives who sought to smuggle onto aircraft liquid explosives hidden in empty soft drink containers.
In al Asiri’s case, it’s the TSA’s “Laptops/IPads out of bag” orders. As I noted recently, al Asiri epitomizes how technically smart terrorists can pose exceptionally serious threats. A genius bombmaker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al Asiri variably embedded his explosives in underwear, printer cartridge units, and even humans. His devices were able to evade wide-ranging security measures in each case. And while al Asiri’s attacks were not as successful as intended, his constant tactical evolution was highly impressive. His loss is not one that al Qaeda has been able to replace.
In a sense, however, al Qaeda has not needed to replace al Asiri or Rauf.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
After all, our heavily restricted airport experiences have endured long after the two men died. These rules might be designed to save lives, but they ultimately impose vast costs of time, inconvenience, and economic friction. Top line: al Asiri and Rauf continue to score victories even in death. It’s time to lessen these restrictions. The porous U.S.-Mexico border is now a preeminent counterterrorism concern. That said, it is very complicated for U.S.-based terrorists to construct explosive devices successfully and then deploy them onto airliners undetected. This would still be the case even without the shoe and liquid restrictions.
The time has come to end Rauf and al Asiri’s immortality in favor of easier airline travel.