>>> First of all, if GW Bush would have alerted us, it is likely that the people at the airlines might have been more alert in checking the passengers, etc.

You just never let an opportunity pass to take another swing at President Bush, do you?

From the 911 Commission Report, page 19 - http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911... :

The security checkpoints through which passengers, including Atta and his colleagues, gained access to the American 11 gate were operated by Globe Security under a contract with American Airlines. In a different terminal, the single checkpoint through which passengers for United 175 passed was controlled by United Airlines, which had contracted with Huntleigh USA to perform screening.

In passing through these checkpoints, each of the hijackers would have been screened by a walk-through metal detector calibrated to detect items with at least the metal content of a .22-caliber handgun. Anyone who might have set off that detector would have been screened with a hand wand-a procedure requiring the screener to identify the metal item or items that caused the alarm. In addition, an X-ray machine would have screened the hijackers’ carry-on belongings. The screening was in place to identify and confiscate weapons and other items prohibited from being carried onto a commercial flight. None of the checkpoint supervisors recalled the hijackers or reported anything suspicious regarding their screening.

It does look like the Globe Security and Huntleigh USA folks were doing their jobs.

What additional security measures do you think should have been taken? Other than taking another swing at Bush, what do you think they should have been doing that they were not from a practical sense?

With you it’s all about getting in your talking points. This isn’t a conversion, because you simply don’t answer. With you it’s simply about taking another swing at Bush, huh? So this time, why don’t you try to answer my question? But before you answer, please consider the consequences on air travel and air travelers. Yes, they need to be safe. They also need to be able to travel.