(<a href=www.nytimes.com target=_blank>NYT) Die USA testen ein Abwehrsystem gegen Boden-Luft-Raketen, das vielleicht an alle zivilen Passagiermaschinen montiert werden soll. Angeblicher Grund: Weil's so einfach sei für Terroristen, an solche Raketen ranzukommen, sei's ein Wunder, dass noch nie jemand eine Maschine so runtergeholt habe. 1 abgeschossene Maschine wäre nicht so schlimm, katastrophal wär hingegen, wenn die Öffentlichkeit das Vertrauen in die Sicherheit des Fliegens verlieren würde.

Homeland Security officials have repeatedly cautioned that no credible evidence exists of a planned missile attack in the United States. But there is near unanimity among national security experts and lawmakers that because of the relatively low price and small size of the missiles, as well as the large number available on the black market, they represent a legitimate domestic threat. The concern is not just for the lives that would be lost in the shoot-down of a single plane, proponents say. It is for the enormous economic consequences that would result if the public were to lose confidence in flying.