Globaliser, that's just it... profiling is a combination of all three. A proper security agency would have access to the proper intelligence sources to keep them up to date with known attempts or individuals and their properly trained profilers would be able to ask the right questions based on their observations and build on that from the answers given.
In the case above, the girl was unwittingly carrying a bomb given to her by her terrorist boyfriend. He wasn't really her boyfriend but was duped by Nizar Hindawi who was a Syrian agent who saw an opportunity to befriend a naive and vulnerable young woman. This was a classic operation by the Syrians to blow up an El Al plane. Nizar Hindawi wasn't going to be on the plane himself, obviously, and it was through the classic profiling (questioning and observing) that El Al security uncovered this plot at the last minute.
As she was questioned by El Al security (profiler) it became increasingly obvious that she needed further investigation. Who purchased her ticket and how? Why wasn't the person who purchased her ticket travelling with her? What was her boyfriends name and where did he live? Who would be meeting her in Tel Aviv and where would she be staying? So on and so forth and as it became increasingly clear that it did not all add up the thorough search revealed the bomb hidden in the lining of the suitcase.
Now, compare that with the hired security person on little more than minimum wage who is employed to check your passport and ticket before you check in for most long haul flights these days. I know for a fact that they are unable to spot a ticket with a different surname than the one in the passport. Something that basic shows how pathetic the current system is. I had to point out to the security person that the name had been changed after marriage and that the change was actually noted on a different page in the passport!