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RE: Don Phillips column, page 12-13, Trains/Jan. 2008

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Just a question. From memory (I was a kid back then) I seem to remember reports that airline security here in Europe was drastically up after the plane hijackings that started in the 70's. Was there, prior to 9/11, a difference in security between domestic US and international flights?Not particularly, because of the way airports were laid out.  Jetways, like train tracks, were used not only for international flights, but for local hops as well.  I flew extensively in the mid to late 70's, and to get to a gate, you went through a metal detector.  There was a lot of complaining about emptying your pockets of change, keys, etc., but soon enough it became part of the "thrill" of aviation. (There were also arrests made over poor attempts at humor at ticketing counters as well.)Coming into the country was a little bit different, in that you got your baggage and then went through customs.  It wasn't much different than flying into London, or Frankfurt am Main in (then) West Germany.  I do remember seeing machine gun armed Bundesgrendschutze Polizei in Frankfurt, with a couple of guard dogs.  This was back in the days of Baader Meinhof and the Red Army Faction terror groups busy blowing up clubs in Germany.Can you please elaborate on how our governments failed us Europeans?If I seemed insulting, this was not my intention, and I apologize.  However, the recent Madrid bombings provide an example of what I mean.  It is a great tribute to the Spanish police that they were able to apprehend the bombers of the Madrid trains.  I have to wonder how they did it so quickly.  I would like to think that the Spanish citizenry arose as one to aid and assist law enforcement, but I'm too cynical to accept that.  Rather, I tend to believe that intelligence services knew in advance who the key players were, and didn't do anything about passing that information on until the bombings occurred.Here in the US, heads rolled over lax airline security- even though the 9/11 hijackers broke no laws until they took over the aircraft. Heads are still rolling.  The impression I get- admittedly filtered through American media, which is hardly fair and unbiased- was that European government changed their foreign policy to avoid further attacks, rather than take pre emptive action against known terrorist cells in Europe, many of whom are known and allowed to operate without hindrance, so long as they do not interfere with national interests.I don't think Europeans are indifferent to personal survival, nor do I give them any higher marks in the bravery department than Americans have.  My observation is that any government that accepts "hundreds of thousands" of casualties- or even, thousands of casualities- is indifferent to the protection of their citizens.  And if a government is indifferent to the survival, health, and well being of their citizens, they are unlikely to do much in the way of protecting them.  Again, that's the way Europeans do things- and they seem to be pretty happy with it.  But I don't think they are any braver than we are... or any more cowardly, either.  So, Marc, if I inadvertently insulted you or offended you in any way, please accept my apologies for my blunt American observation.
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