Air Marshals.

This is coolbert:

Here with some interesting statistics regarding the U.S. Air Marshal service. Those armed guards riding "shotgun" on certain specific airline flights, domestic and international.

Armed para-military guards ready to fight it out with hijackers and terrorists.

Thanks to Time magazine:

* In the 1990's, prior to 9/11, the total contingent of air marshals in federal service was thirty [30].

* In the aftermath of 9/11, the air marshal service has been dramatically expanded, there now being no less than 4,000 marshals available and "on call".

* Total number of arrests made in the eight years since 9/11 has been FOUR. That amounts to about $200 million per arrest taking into account all the money spent on the air marshal program!

* There has been only one instance where the air marshals have had to kill a passenger? A man threatening that he had a bomb, disembarking from an aircraft, shot and killed as he exited the plane!

[There were no air marshals on the Christmas Day flight to Detroit that was nearly blown out of the sky!]

Price and cost cannot be a consideration with regard to the deployment of the air marshals. Even stopping one hijacking or terrorist incident would be worth it!?

Also, here is a description of an "incident" - - from over four years ago now, where the mere presence of air marshals and armed bodyguards on an Israeli El Al flight thwarted the arrest of an Israeli general - - a man for which a warrant had been issued:

"Why Israeli general avoided Heathrow arrest"

"Major-General Doron Almog avoided arrest in September 2005 after he was tipped off that officers planned to detain him on landing at Heathrow airport."
. . .

"police did not board the plane to detain him at the airport because they were worried about the dangers of an armed confrontation."

Aboard that El Al flight were not ONLY the standard Israeli air marshals - - armed and ready to fight, but also the personal bodyguard of General Almog, also armed and ready to fight.

And too, probably almost every Israeli citizen on that El AL flight, they also would have been ready to fight, with their bare hands if necessary, using krav maga, the vast majority of those Israeli passengers having military training and experience?!

Those British cops were skittish, and with good reason!!

I may be wrong about this, but that El Al aircraft by international law and protocol is considered to be sovereign territory of Israel? Inviolate from armed intrusion by outsiders. Such a confrontation, an attempt to board that plane and arrest General Almog - - WOULD HAVE CONSTITUTED AN ACT OF WAR BY THE BRITISH AGAINST ISRAEL!!

With all that would mean!!

coolbert.