Airport Guards Waste Money, Are Irrelevant

Re “Troops Patrol John Wayne,” Oct. 13:

Naive people may be reassured by seeing National Guardsmen on patrol at John Wayne Airport, but all I can see is money being wasted.

In the first place, the M-16 had no magazine in place, so it was useful only for clubbing someone. In the second place, aircraft and passengers are not in peril on the ground so much as in the air. Unfortunately, the (unarmed) guardsmen remain on the ground. Finally, and most important, the horse is already out of the barn. These evil terrorists keep changing their attack points. First it was restaurants. Then embassies. After that, the USS Cole by boat. Now that passengers on aircraft will no longer be passive, they will again change their focus of attack.

The horse is out of the barn, people. It is safe to fly.

John Jaeger

Irvine