Having seen all these events unfold from the very first minute live here on US TV, I am amazed at some peoples extreme reactions.
Firstly, Skymarshals have been operating here for many years on flights all around the USA (mainly on 'suspect' flights) and they are not something of a novelty.
To this end, just how many flights do you all think there are flying around the world and how many Skymarshalls do you think this would require?!
Armed personnel on board aircraft are not the answer, as hijackers will normally outnumber them, firing shots around a pressurised cabin is not a clever move (explosive decompression is NOT a safe option) and if the hijackers have only knives then they now have the possibilty of gaining a firearm.
As for more strict forms of ID, thats fine , but remember folks, these guys were all 'clean' and were all fully aware that they would never see another day, so had little regard for other humans life.
There will always be fundamentalists who will do anything to anybody in the name of their cause, all we can do is keep security as tight as possible and keep focussed on reality.
What has happened is truly tragic, but revenge in the form of war and firearms on board aircraft will not help undo what has happened.
I believe these people will do ANYTHING to accomplish their mission so lets not get drawn into a war of attacking innocent civilians.
More options will come to light, but lets not go the gung-ho way and equip airborne personnel with arms. Better to seal the flightdeck than that~!
And no I'm not a tree hugging pacifist, I'm just a realist.
