Someone once said "The gazelle wakes up in the morning knowing it has to outrun the fastest lion. The lion wakes up knowing it only has to outrun the slowest gazelle." In a courtroom trial, the DA is in the position of the gazelle - he/she has to make sure there are no holes in the state's case - and the defense is in the position of the lion (they only have to find one hole in the prosecution's case - at least, in theory).

Generally, in warfare, the terrorists are the lions (they can attack anywhere and anytime they want) and the people are in the position of the gazelle.

The key to good security lies in finding a way to make yourself the lion and not the gazelle. This doesn't necessarily mean thumping your chest and throwing your weight around; it means putting the terrorists on the defensive. (A good example, IMO, is the technique, described in another thread, used by Israeli screeners to identify terrorists by asking increasingly detailed questions of potential suspects, until eventually the terrorist comes to the end of his/her prepared story and has to start improvising.)

The fact that some posters find it difficult to discuss this topic in a civil manner, does not mean that the topic is not worth discussing. Flipper may be a Canadian; I certainly am. I believe that Canadians, and Brits, and Frenchmen/women, Germans, and many other nationalities are dying unnecessarily as a result of the "security" measures which have, by and large, been forced on us by the US, and therefore I believe it is a topic worth discussing.

Having said that, I am now making a sincere effort to avoid repeating arguments I have made in the past, or descending to personal attacks.