It occurs to me, in light of reading Alex Halavais’ persuasive post concerning the war on terror and its beneficiaries, that the whole point of this exercise is, in fact, not to look in the bag. As long as the contents of the bag remain a mystery, then the terror can be maintained and authority is not to be questioned. And if we can turn ordinary things like hair gel, sports drinks, and iPods into terrifying weapons, that’s better still.

Sir, you have to leave your bag in the car!
How come?
Blah blah blah war on terror blah blah blah.
But all I have in here is a water bottle and an iPod.
Aieeeeeee! Run for your lives!