Remember in the weeks and months after 9/11 how controversial the idea of allowing pilots to be armed in the cockpits of commercial aircraft?  Some progress is being made as the US is now asking foreign nations to allow pilots to carry side arms on international flights.  The bad news is that that the government continues to not treat the program seriously to maximize its potential benefits.  Congress has cut the armed pilot's program twice recently and the TSA last year received a grade of 'D' for it's armed pilots program from the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations for "poor operational policies." 

Even so, it's good to see that Homeland Security and the State Department are taking the issue seriously and recognizes the value of arming pilots to defend against would-be hijackers.