The cowardly attacks by ISIS terrorists in the heart of Europe continue to raise more questions than answers.
     Common sense demands that describing the attackers as “Muslim terrorists” is a gross insult to the roughly 1.6 billion Muslim faithful who want nothing to do with the perverted interpretations brought forward by ISIS Jihadists.
     As a matter of fact, reports confirm that at least 89 of the victims killed or seriously injured in the Paris attacks were Muslims.
     While Paris 2015 is being described as Europe’s 911, fears—both rational and irrational—continue to spread across the continent, fears that are now fueling the agenda of some politicians, including some powerful extremists who seem to believe that every European citizen is a potential terrorist and thus must be monitored 24/7.
     It is fair to observe that the airline business—the mode of transport most vulnerable to terrorist plots and attacks—may at this point need to rethink various factors for enhancing overall safety, including well-trained and appropriately paid security staff that take pride in what they do and how they do it.
     That would, it can be gently suggested, include the outsourcing of safety and security-related functions such as air passenger and baggage security checks, cargo security checks, cargo and baggage handlers, and passenger check-in staff.
     Interestingly in Germany, where calls for security action and tougher laws are all rising in volume, it appears there is a glaring failure to vote into law the implementation of the ICAO TI, the worldwide binding legal framework for the transport of dangerous goods by air.
     No doubt in this age of heightened awareness and fear, failure to pass ICAO TI into applicable German law is a clear and present risk both to safety and security.

    
The USA Model?

     While in the United States of America individual states have their own laws and regulations, Federal law governs crucial subjects of national importance such as immigration, security, and transport matters. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, security in the United States was focused on coordinated efforts that worked on a nationwide scale.
     Although far from perfect, American security measures post 911 are good models that can be adapted by our European compatriots.
     Moving forward, a hopeful sign for the European Union is the emergence of this long-term thought: rather than closing intra-European borders, a better, safer strategy would focus on more unification of security measures within the EU and less nation-state rhetoric.
Jens