Navigating the nation's course after Flight 253

Northwest Flight 253 sits on the runway after arriving in Detroit. (J.p. Karas Via Associated Press)

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Regarding the Dec. 28 news article "Precautions tightened for U.S.-bound flights": Now that carry-on luggage has been correctly identified as an air travel security threat, it’s time to change the airlines’ practices regarding charges for baggage. The current system encourages carry-on baggage instead of discouraging it. That’s backward. The government should prohibit charges for the first two checked bags. The government should further require a charge for carry-on items that are too big to fit under the seat in front of a passenger. At a minimum, the fee should be high enough to provide the necessary funding for hand-searching and swabbing for explosives all items carried onto aircraft.

John W. Bell, WoodBridge

Neither Eugene Robinson’s Dec. 29 op-ed "A 'system' dangerously off course," nor the Dec. 29 "Securing the skies" editorial addressed a fundamental problem with the U.S. response mechanism regarding terrorist threats -- it continues to be reactive and not proactive.

After Richard Reid's shoe-bomb attempt in 2001, we began removing our shoes at airport screenings. After the liquid-bomb plot in 2006, we were restricted to 3-ounce containers in carry-on bags, and henceforth, at a pilot's discretion, we won't be able to do anything except sit during the last hour of a flight.

The terrorists are pretty much determining how we are going to live and move for the rest of our lives -- so who is "winning" this war against terrorism?

Not only must the Transportation Security Administration get a lot smarter, we as a nation must stop playing politics with how the administration in power deals with terrorism. Charity begins at home -- so let's all show a united front until we are rid of this scourge.

Jack Nargundkar, Germantown

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