At Business 2.0, a short but informative article on the security techniques used by Israel�s El Al Airlines: The El Al Approach. Here’s the section about their profiling methods:

El Al unabashedly “profiles” its passengers. Security agents classify travelers by race, nationality, gender, and so on, and ask each a set of questions, carefully watching responses. In some cases, agents separate companions and question each one alone, looking for conflicting stories. Before check-in, security agents screen tickets and passports for details that raise red flags, such as cash payments or visas from certain countries.

Please notice that they do much more than subject every Arab to a cavity search.

Common sense is a huge part of their system, and one thing this article doesn’t mention is that El Al Security can draw from a pool of well-educated, alert, highly motivated people, attuned to the demands of living under threat of terrorism. Smart people who understand the reasons behind the guidelines, and apply themselves to a common goal.

Here in the US, in spite of 9/11, we don’t even require our security personnel to be high school graduates.