I wondered the exact same thing myself. At first, I thought they might be continental flights to major European cities or something, but the reports keep saying they wanted to destroy the trans-Atlantic ones. That send the message that going back and forth between the two nations fighting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is tantamount to suicide in the eyes of the fanatics, but other than being devastating to those lost and their families, and, as agrumer mentioned, allowing them to keep getting away with it, it's not the strongest message to send.
I come back to the logic of the hijackers on 9/11 for a better explanation, and one that scares me more. They targeted trans-US flights because of the higher fuel storage onboard--the better to burn and explode innocent people. Maybe the trans-Atlantic flights provide them the same buffer, as if blowing up a plane over the ocean isn't a really sure way of making sure everyone on board dies. But it might also represent a measure of caution on their parts--giving them more fuel to play with in case their takeover doesn't work right away--after 9/11, I think most stewardesses and pilots are trained not to let the hijackers take over.
But, then again, if they could just mix explosive on the plane, they wouldn't need to take over, just meet in the restroom. Scary.
I come back to the logic of the hijackers on 9/11 for a better explanation, and one that scares me more. They targeted trans-US flights because of the higher fuel storage onboard--the better to burn and explode innocent people. Maybe the trans-Atlantic flights provide them the same buffer, as if blowing up a plane over the ocean isn't a really sure way of making sure everyone on board dies. But it might also represent a measure of caution on their parts--giving them more fuel to play with in case their takeover doesn't work right away--after 9/11, I think most stewardesses and pilots are trained not to let the hijackers take over.
But, then again, if they could just mix explosive on the plane, they wouldn't need to take over, just meet in the restroom. Scary.
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