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Bomb-sniffing dogs to replace worthless magic wands in Iraq
Published 4 February 2010
There is an added poignancy to the death of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians in dozens of car-bomb attacks: The Iraqi military and police spent millions of dollars in U.S. military aid money to buy hundreds of worthless “magic wands” to be used as explosive detectors at hundreds of checkpoints; how many lives could have been saved had real detectors been used? This Iraqi reliance on superstition is now coming to an end: the U.K. government has banned the export of the fraudulent device, and the U.S. military is rushing hundred of bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq ahead of the 7 March elections (Click title to read more)
On duty in Mosul, Iraq // Source: militaryphotos.net
New dogs, old tricks. We reported three months ago that the Iraqi government has spent tens of millions of U.S. aid dollars to buy thousands of “magic wands” which were supposed to detect explosives at checkpoints. One American officer described the device as working “on the same principle as a Ouija board.” Another officer said that to believe the claims of the British company which is selling the device, and of the Iraqi authorities that swear by it, “would be laughable” — except that people are dying as a result: “[the company and Iraqi government have] crossed an insupportable line into moral depravity,” the American officer said (“Iraqis Use ‘Magic Wand’ at Checkpoints to Detect Explosives; U.S. Officer: This Is ‘Laughable’,” 5 November 2009 HSNW) 5 November 2009 HSNW).
This waste of millions of U.S. aid dollars on a superstition is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. It is coming to an end on two fronts:
Bomb-sniffing dogs
AP reports that the American military is stepping up the delivery of bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government under pressure for using equipment that has proved ineffective in finding explosives.
The first 25 of 145 trained bomb-detection dogs are due to arrive Friday in Baghdad, Army Maj. Sylvester Wegwu told the Associated Press. The remaining 120 dogs will be delivered over the course of a year, said Wegwu, who works as military adviser to the Baghdad Police College.
The dog airlift follows a request to the U.S. military from Iraqi officials for more of the trained dogs, signaling that Iraq is looking to use other bomb-detection methods after questions were raised about the capabilities of a wand-like, bomb-detection device widely used at checkpoints across Iraq.
The dogs will be paired with Iraqi police handlers at the college and will undergo training as a team.
The dogs’ arrival comes as U.S. and Iraqi officials warn of a possible increase in violence ahead of national elections slated for 7 March.
The new Iraqi canine teams could be deployed within forty-five days, with a handful of them out on Baghdad’s streets ahead of the vote, said police Brig. Gen. Mohammad Mesheb Hajea, who oversees the training program.
Iraqi forces have been reluctant to expand the use of bomb-sniffing dogs until recently because of Muslim traditions that view dogs as unclean. The dogs will be used to search cars, buildings, and other areas, though they will not be used to check people for explosives unless a specific individual is a suspected bomber, Hajea said. “Our culture is different from the European culture and the American culture,” said Hajea, who also runs his own veterinary clinic in Baghdad. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said Iraqi authorities have requested scanners capable of looking inside sealed portions of vehicles in addition to the dog teams.
Export ban
Two weeks ago the U.K. government banned the export of the hand-held device which had been marketed as a bomb-detection device in Iraq and Afghanistan because of allegations that it does not work.
The U.K. Press Association reported that police had arrested Jim McCormick, the director of ATSC, the company that makes the device, on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation. The report said McCormick had been released on bail.
Bomb-sniffing dogs to replace worthless magic wands in Iraq
Published 4 February 2010
The police said that it launched an investigation after the force became “aware of the existence of a piece of equipment around which there were many concerns.”
ATSC’s product, the ADE651, is marketed as a bomb detector and has been reportedly bought in large numbers by the Iraqi military to use at security checkpoints. The Iraqi government is understood to have spent about $85 million buying thousands of ADE651 bomb detectors for use at its 400 checkpoints.
While the United Kingdom has said it would discuss the issue with Iraqi authorities, the export ban is limited to Iraq and Afghanistan based on the danger it could cause to British troops operating there.
Britain’s department for business, innovation and skills said in a statement that its “legal power to control these goods is based on the risk that they could cause harm to U.K. and other friendly forces.”
British authorities did acknowledge that independent weapons experts had cast doubt on the device. “Tests have shown that the technology used in the ADE651 and similar devices is not suitable for bomb detection,” the statement said. “As soon as it was brought to the attention of the Export Control Organization and Lord [Peter] Mandelson [the U.K. business secretary] we acted urgently to put in place export restrictions which will come into force next week.”
Background
Last year, the James Randi Educational Foundation, an organization seeking to debunk claims of the paranormal, publicly offered ATSC $1 million if it could pass a scientific test proving that the device could detect explosives. Mr. Randi said no one from the company had taken up the offer.
ATSC’s promotional material claims that its device can find guns, ammunition, drugs, truffles, human bodies and even contraband ivory at distances up to a kilometer, underground, through walls, underwater or even from airplanes three miles high. The device works on “electrostatic magnetic ion attraction,” ATSC says.
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