>My morning paper had an editorial on this and like so many others, couldn't understand the difference between watching for suspicious behavior and profiling.

My guess is that profiling is statistical. They watch you just long enough to classify you into one of the cubbyholes, and then if you get dropped into one with suspects, you're presumed guilty by association.

Watching for behavior makes it personal. Profiling is by groups.

I had a case in 2003 when I was patted down and had my hand luggage thoroughly searched in the little room simply because the girl at the checkin couldn't pronounce my last name, so she used the pink highlighter and wrote an S on my boarding pass. For all the other flights from that airport (ORF) I had my tickets paid via web, so I could just swipe my card at the machine and have my boarding pass printed without any human trying any tongue pushups, and voila, I was beyond suspicion.