A very disturbing article, I'm glad it was written and thank you Jergo for posting it here. Otherwise I wouldn't even have known about it.
I found it at least a little reassuring that several Air Marshalls were on board and apparently were aware of what was going on, I find it disturbing that there were apparently several people mentioned to the flight attendants their concern over the suspicious activity and yet, did any of the marshalls perform an inspection of what these Syrian musicians were carrying on them DURING THE FLIGHT?
I realize they have their guidelines to follow and we have laws against racial profiling. But I think most people can agree that DURING A FLIGHT, different rules can and should apply.
If the situation was reversed, that WHITE MEN were conducting terrorist acts against arabic countries, and I was singled out on a plane traveling in the middle east during a flight, and air marshalls inspected me, my family, and my carry on belongings, I might not be happy about it. But assuming it was done professionally and with reasonable courtesy, and an apology followed upon their NOT finding anything, I could easily understand it and not be all pissed off about it. Especially if they were professional enough to assist in repacking my belongings.
Under the circumstances, reasonable people would agree it was a REASONABLE search if I was acting suspiciously.
It should NOT be a problem IN FLIGHT, to give our FAA, Air Marshalls, etc., additional authority with reduced civil rights to passengers given the potential for disaster, especially given that our airlines/airports STILL do not have their act together when it comes to inspecting passengers and their baggage.