{"id":3183,"date":"2010-01-19T14:40:48","date_gmt":"2010-01-19T19:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=3183"},"modified":"2010-11-02T08:21:13","modified_gmt":"2010-11-02T12:21:13","slug":"the-body-scanner-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/19\/the-body-scanner-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"The Body Scanner Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edward Luttwak, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has a must read op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal… In short Mr. Luttwak lays way waste to the fallacy of body scanners<\/a> in airport security screening:<\/p>\n

All males have a body cavity. Females have two body cavities. In prisons, these body cavities are habitually used to smuggle drugs and improvised weapons past body searches, including complete nudity strip searches.<\/p>\n

Given the power of widely available explosives, the amount that can be carried inside a body cavity\u2014let alone two\u2014is sufficient to destroy ordinary pressurized airliners at normal flight altitudes. That makes “pat downs,” or indeed any form of physical inspection that is remotely feasible in any airport of any normal country, entirely futile. That alone rules out scanners as a solution unless they are both very-high definition and pat downs are not allowed as an alternative.<\/p>\n

Futility has not of course deterred the United States from creating and operating a vast Transportation Security Administration apparatus critically dependent on metal detectors. At enormous cost, and by inflicting enormous inconvenience, it almost guarantees the detection of any explosive device\u2014so long as it is firmly attached to a nail clipper.<\/p>\n

Reliance on metal detectors was dubious from the start not only because they cannot detect explosives as such, but because they cannot even detect knives if they are made out of ceramic. Some manufacturers of ceramic knives add metal to them specifically to allow detection. Others do not and their knives are just as lethal\u2014certainly more so than the short box cutters used by the 9\/11 terrorists.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our current airport screening system is destined to fail for the simple reason it places to much emphasis on screening for and finding things. If we really want to improve security we have to invest as much if not more resources in screening people and identifying\u00a0 potential threats as we do in finding weapons<\/p>\n

The body scanners currently being pushed as the best way to prevent another “underwear bomber” only perpetuate that “things” mentality… Our enemies aren’t stupid, and as Mr. Luttwak points out the body scanners can be easily defeated.<\/p>\n

It’s time we faced reality and realized that invading our physical privacy at airports isn’t going to make us safer, we need to focus on people not just things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edward Luttwak, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has a must read op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal… In short Mr. Luttwak lays way waste to the fallacy of body scanners in airport security screening: All males have a body cavity. Females have two body cavities. In prisons, these body […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,15,193],"tags":[966,967,968,965],"class_list":["post-3183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","category-security","category-war-on-terror","tag-airport-security","tag-body-scanners","tag-edward-luttwak","tag-tsa","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Pl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3742,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/24\/janet-napolitano-next-step-for-body-scanners-could-be-public-transit\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":0},"title":"Janet Napolitano: Next Step for Body Scanners Could Be Public Transit","author":"Jeff","date":"November 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I linked to this piece from The Hill as a related item yesterday, but I think it deserves comment, so here we go: The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists will continue to look for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3801,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/02\/dhs-seeks-systems-for-covert-body-scans\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":1},"title":"DHS Seeks Systems for Covert Body Scans","author":"Jeff","date":"March 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Somewhere George Orwell is smiling and thinking 'I warned you'...\u00a0I've always considered Mr. Orwell's novel 1984 a bit far fetched, but this report from Computerworld makes me wonder if, perhaps, Mr Orwell wasn't clairvoyant: Documents obtained Tuesday by the Electronic Privacy Information Center suggest that the U.S. Department of Homeland\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3727,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/23\/priceless-adam-savage-mythbusts-the-tsa\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":2},"title":"Priceless: Adam Savage Mythbusts the TSA","author":"Jeff","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A big hat tip to Gizmodo... This is probably the single best indictment of the TSAs \"things\" mentality I've ever seen: Heh, I'm not the least bit surprised the TSA missed those blades... much of what they is a sort of Kabuki theater that's destined to fail far more often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3718,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/22\/tsa-head-we-dont-profile\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":3},"title":"TSA Head: We Don’t Profile","author":"Jeff","date":"November 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been debating whether or not to weigh in on the TSA screening controversy for much of the past week, I've stayed away from it mainly because I haven't felt like I've had anything other than a vitriolic rant to add to the discussion. Anyway, Gateway Pundit and The Other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3107,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/26\/christmas-day-terror-bomb-attempt-on-u-s-bound-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":4},"title":"Christmas Day Terror: Bomb Attempt on U.S.-Bound Flight","author":"Jeff","date":"December 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Wall Street Journal: A passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried Friday to detonate an explosive device strapped to his leg and later told investigators he had affiliations with al Qaeda and was trying to blow up the plane, according to a senior U.S. official. \"We believe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "War on Terror"","block_context":{"text":"War on Terror","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/war-on-terror\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2125,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/05\/pelosi-seeking-to-buffer-lawmakers-from-federal-investigators\/","url_meta":{"origin":3183,"position":5},"title":"Pelosi Seeking to Buffer Lawmakers From Federal Investigators","author":"Jeff","date":"May 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"House speaker Nancy Pelosi is apparently working to establish a protocol on how to handle searches and wire taps of congressional offices. She says\u00a0 she doesn't want to limit law-enforcement wiretaps of congressional offices, just\u00a0 to clarify what are appropriate terms for notifying members about searches and tapped conversations. Huh?!?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}