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Fake Bomb Detector, Blamed For Hundreds of Deaths, Is Still In Use
HughPickens.com writes: Murtaza Hussain writes at The Intercept that although it remains in use at sensitive security areas throughout the world, the ADE 651 is a complete fraud and the ADE-651's manufacturer sold it with the full knowledge that it was useless at detecting explosives. There are no batteries in the unit and it consists of a swivelling aerial mounted to a hinge on a hand-grip. The device contains nothing but the type of anti-theft tag used to prevent stealing in high street stores and critics have likened it to a glorified dowsing rod.
The story of how the ADE 651 came into use involves the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. At the height of the conflict, as the new Iraqi government battled a wave of deadly car bombings, it purchased more than 7,000 ADE 651 units worth tens of millions of dollars in a desperate effort to stop the attacks. Not only did the units not help, the device actually heightened the bloodshed by creating "a false sense of security" that contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Iraqi civilians. A BBC investigation led to a subsequent export ban on the devices.
The device is once again back in the news as it was reportedly used for security screening at hotels in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh where a Russian airliner that took off from that city's airport was recently destroyed in a likely bombing attack by the militant Islamic State group. Speaking to The Independent about the hotel screening, the U.K. Foreign Office stated it would "continue to raise concerns" over the use of the ADE 651. James McCormick, the man responsible for the manufacture and sale of the ADE 651, received a 10-year prison sentence for his part in manufacture of the devices, sold to Iraq for $40,000 each. An employee of McCormick who later became a whistleblower said that after becoming concerned and questioning McCormick about the device, McCormick told him the ADE 651 "does exactly what it's designed to. It makes money."
The story of how the ADE 651 came into use involves the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. At the height of the conflict, as the new Iraqi government battled a wave of deadly car bombings, it purchased more than 7,000 ADE 651 units worth tens of millions of dollars in a desperate effort to stop the attacks. Not only did the units not help, the device actually heightened the bloodshed by creating "a false sense of security" that contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Iraqi civilians. A BBC investigation led to a subsequent export ban on the devices.
The device is once again back in the news as it was reportedly used for security screening at hotels in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh where a Russian airliner that took off from that city's airport was recently destroyed in a likely bombing attack by the militant Islamic State group. Speaking to The Independent about the hotel screening, the U.K. Foreign Office stated it would "continue to raise concerns" over the use of the ADE 651. James McCormick, the man responsible for the manufacture and sale of the ADE 651, received a 10-year prison sentence for his part in manufacture of the devices, sold to Iraq for $40,000 each. An employee of McCormick who later became a whistleblower said that after becoming concerned and questioning McCormick about the device, McCormick told him the ADE 651 "does exactly what it's designed to. It makes money."
We've all said it before and we've been right all along.
Whereby McCormick gets to detect which one out of six bombs is not a bomb and is then forced to detonate it.
As an aside, really!?, a ten year sentence? Either this whole story is total bullshit or someone has no concept of proportionality - doesn't taking the name of a media-multinational in vain result a longer sentence than this?
Requiem for the American Dream
A fraud which has contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of people should be punished with way more than 10 years.
Meanwhile, in the United States our own "glorified dowsing rods" the TSA continues to rake in somewhere around $8 Billion dollars a year in direct costs alone (likely tens of billions when you factor in economic losses, increased road deaths and secondary costs) and is 95% ineffective at finding lighters and knives. And chances are no one responsible for that debacle is ever going to see a fine let alone a prison sentence.
You probably blame religion for stuff like the Paris bombings or the Inquisition, but really it's bullshit. It's all about people, not religion.
Look at the brave old USSR, which was officially godless and atheist, and see how many millions died in prison camps or politically-driven mass murders. Same with Cambodia.
I know it's comforting to have something to blame for all the problems in the world, but that's basically the same as joining a religion because its dogma is a comforting way to see the world. Truth is, people have killed, stolen and raped each others forever, it has nothing to do with religion or politics, it's just how people are.
So we've heard it all about religion. Religions are stupid, religious books are fables, god is a security blanket blablabla. Can we please move beyond this? It feels as dated as SCO bashing.
lucm, indeed.
What kind of a bad ass do you have to be to get the MOH twice?!? Did he single handedly kill Hitler?
Its a matter of luck, bad and good. Bad luck to be in a situation where the award of a Medal of Honor is appropriate. This happens far more often than such awards suggest. Good luck in the sense that two people witnessed your actions, and that they survived. Many MOH recipients accept the award in memory of those whose actions were as brave or braver than theirs but were never reported or properly witnessed.
There are far more heroes that are unknown rather than known.
France has far more experience of terrorism than the USA. You may have heard of a country called Algeria. You may have heard of another called Lebanon. You may have heard of a few things that happened in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. You haven't? Why are you giving advice then?