Surely you must be jesting !!
Your federal agencies (God knows how you guys keep track of them having so many........incompetent ) had been advised by the french and german counter terrorist units giving names of potential suspects.
One of those guys throws a temper tantrum because he wants to learn how to fly a 747 and what does the mighty FBI do ???? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ !!!
Only ONE person within the CIA speaks pashtoun giving no credit whatsoever to infiltration and other good old intelligence techniques.
Nope mate, you don't do intelligence out of a cozy office using a joy stick to pilot satellites. But then, what would you do without your toys ???
Now if I may. Richard Reed was offloaded the previous day, how on earth wasn't the Captain told about this ?? He is the last one responsible to make the decison wether this good Gent is going to travel or not and I think you Yanks should get out of your flight decks from time to time to take the power entrusted to you by Air Law and not rely on some sort of clueless ground staff who will not have her /his ass at stake.
I think it just looks like take off in the peak of a storm; everyone waiting for the first one to vacate the runway saying " no can do " because they're afraid to look like a fool.
Better look like a fool in one piece than .........an idiot as a forencic piece of evidence..........if they get to find you.