People are rightfully asking questions about airline security in the aftermath of the failed attempt by Nigerian jihadist and al Qaeda operative Umar Farouk Abdelmutallab to blow up Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit last month. But another question needs to be asked that is unrelated to body scanners and exploding underwear: what if, instead of a mid-air detonation, Abdelmutallab’s intention had been to de-plane, enter the United States, and carry out an operation at a later time, originating within our borders? Would we have had the tools we needed to prevent this from happening?

We did not have the requisite tools when al Qaeda operatives — including four who entered the U.S. legally and overstayed their visas — carried out the attacks of September 11, 2001. Given this history, and the fact that Abdelmutallab himself indicated at the time of his capture that more attacks were being planned, now is clearly not the time to let our guard down on monitoring who is here from overseas and why.

 

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Ben Lerner is Director of Policy Operations at the Center

Ben Lerner

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