More dry runs????

Follow up from earlier:  The original story now has more information.  It appears the Syrian band was a Syrian band.  Clinton W. Taylor  at NRO tells more.  Does that make the original story or the Washington Times story below hoaxes?  No.  Are the bad guys trying to test our security? Yes.  After all, if one attacks without first scouting out the enemy, he will fail.

 
The story of the women who was worried she had observed a terrorist dry run on her flight is still there and is growing legs.  The Washington Times has a follow up story on different incidents.

Flight crews and air marshals say Middle Eastern men are staking out airports, probing security measures and conducting test runs aboard airplanes for a terrorist attack.     At least two midflight incidents have involved numerous men of Middle Eastern descent behaving in what one pilot called "stereotypical" behavior of an organized attempt to attack a plane.

There are a number of quotes from the original story but also new information.  Are terrorists probing our security to see if they can turn another airline into a cruise missile?  Most likely.  Are all groups of Middle Eastern men bad guys?  NO!  Do we need to be more careful with who is allowed on the planes and what they bring on the planes? YES.

One big difference between US airports and Changi Airport in Singapore.  In the US Airports, one goes through security and then can go to the shops in the "secure" area of the airport, buy things and then board the plane without further checks.  In Singapore, the passengers go through immigration (no non passengers allowed after this point) and then have the shops and restaurants.  Then when the passengers get to the gate they go through security (the passengers go through security and then go into a large glass enclosed waiting room until the plane is ready to be boarded).  Having the passengers go through security just before they board the plane is better as there is less chance of them smuggling something onto the plane. 

The Singapore model most likely is not practical for US airports due to LAX handling many more flights then Singapore but it would be one good way to help increase the security.  The biggest obstacle would be the costs of the additional screeners and equipment and the screeners having to move from gate to gate to screen people as they assemble in the boarding area.  Oh yes, there is also the cost of enclosing the waiting areas in the US Airports, but the personnel costs would be the biggest problem as it is an ongoing cost.