Just a darn minute.
More than a decade ago, security experts knew that liquid bombs could be assembled from carry-on luggage and detonated aboard airliners.
Ever since al-Qaeda’s Project Bojinka was unmasked in 1995 after a liquid bomb exploded in a Philippine Airlines jet—killing one passenger.
Authorities reacted only recently when British terrorists plotted to mix common household substances into bombs detonated by electronic devices on 10 flights to the United States.
Only then did American authorities begin banning tote-carried liquids and gels on all domestic and international flights.
Dubya’s airport-security minions instead concentrated on nail clippers, pocket knives, lighters, box cutters and other “lethal” weapons.
No containers or electronic devices should be carried aboard an airliner. Period. (20 AUGUST 2006)