Watching My Head Explode!

Every so now and again, a dozing Congressperson stirs long enough to remember that terrorism periodically vacations from its customary habitat and visits Boston, or Paris, or Madrid, or wherever. Obviously, palliative legislation and regulation are just the ticket to dampen the ardor of the crazies and lull the populace into returning to their jobs and neglecting to vote. In consequence, we have the faux protection of requirements that all inbound containers be examined at seaports of entry to detect dangerous goods. You know, bombs, radioactive materials, dread disease agents - our worst fears.

Never mind that land ports, far more likely pojnts of ingress, are exempted from the requirement. Never mind that the technology to fully detect dangerous goods from outside the subject containers has not yet been invented. What we do have is technology that cannot determine if shielded radioactive material lies inside a container, for example.

By the way, even the champion Pollyannas of the planet in Europe have determined that what we have proposed cannot work. Worse, even if it did, it requires the bombs, etc., to be detected must arrive at a port before they can be discovered. Trust me, no port operator wants to risk nuclear holocaust on-premises as a result of a flawed security program.

Comes now promotion by a respected and widely-read trade publication heralding new technology that can help us reach our stated goal of 100% container inspection. Take off your rose-colored specs, guys. It's just more sizzle, with no steak.

All is not lost (but could be if we cannot take new paths). There is in-container technology that can overcome many of today's shortcomings. Laws and regulations can be changed to plug the gaping holes in today's entry points. Detection can be conducted before dirty bombs are dockside at ports (sea, air, and land).

Can you believe that we are willfully ignoring these prospects? Sadly, I can.

Note: Some subject background was provided by Dr. Jim Giermanski, the renowned security guru.