riverScrap

Full-body 'naked' scanners: Myth and reality

News that airport regulators on both sides of the Atlantic plan to roll out full-body scanners in response to the failed Detroit attack has provoked a predictable backlash among the flying public, with many commentators voicing deep scepticism about the motive for such a move.

On the Politics channel of news-sharing website Reddit, the most popular comment submitted by a user stated simply that "The terrorists won," summing up the sentiments of many citizens who have seen their civil liberties slowly eroded by the deeply unpopular War on Terror.

Other users dared to suggest that the timing of the Detroit attack was just too coincidental, coming at a time when privacy groups have been up in arms over ongoing tests of the so-called 'naked scanners'. Could the US authorities have orchestrated the whole thing just to scare us into submission?

I have been an aviation journalist for the past two years, and have written extensively about terrorism on my blog for the past year. In this Q&A, I will combine the experience I've gleaned from those two professions in presenting the cold hard facts – without bias – about full-body scanners.

Airliner convictions underscore potency of threat

It took two trials and £35 million of taxpayers' money, but the successful conviction of three men who plotted to blow up transatlantic jets has brutally driven home the ongoing terror threat facing the West.

Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain and Assad Sarwar were today found guilty of conspiring a crime so heinous it would have been almost unrivalled in recent history, killing upwards of 1,500 people and shattering the bubble of security that has subtly cloaked democratic civilisation since 2001.

Their crimes, should they have borne fruit, were easily capable of dwarfing the cataclysmic attacks of 9/11, and with evidence of direct links to Al Qaeda masterminds in Pakistan finally being made public the convictions leave little doubt that, eight years on, the threat is as real as ever.

What mercy for Lockerbie victims?

As evidence of trade deals with Colonel Gaddafi emerge, Britain releases a Libyan mass murderer from jail on "compassionate grounds". But who gave mercy to the victims of Flight 103?

The release of Abdel Baset al Megrahi, the man responsible for the murder of 270 civilians in Lockerbie in 1988, is directly linked to oil negotiations with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

That's according to Seif al Islam, the son of the Libyan leader, who told state television that the "liberation" of the mass murderer – who is terminally ill with prostate cancer – was a direct consequence of top-level trade deals between his father and the former Labour Party administration.

Britain vehemently denied suggestions of a quid quo pro deal with Libya, insisting the release was handled solely by the devolved Scottish parliament. But with mass murderer al Megrahi receiving a hero's welcome in Tripoli, what mercy is there for the families torn apart by the atrocity?

Tearing down the wall, in Baghdad

The concrete blast walls that for years defined Baghdad's landscape and softened the almost daily thud of indiscriminate suicide bombings are to be torn down, Iraqi military sources confirmed today.

Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, the spokesman for the city's operations command centre, announced that every single one of the symbolically charged shock-absorbers will be dismantled within 40 days - restoring the character of the historic capital but also leaving it open to attack.

While his words stirred up anxiety among Baghdadis, supporters of the plan say it is a necessary first step towards normalcy in a city that since 2003 has been paralysed by an unrelenting wave of terrorism.

US ‘didn’t torture’ Al Qaeda leader, 183 times

Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was “not tortured” on 183 separate occasions in March 2003, according to a newly released memo from the Bush-era Justice Department.

The declassified document confirms that interrogators used waterboarding – a controversial technique that simulates drowning – about six times a day for one month following the terror leader’s arrest.

President Obama authorised the release of the top secret memo on Thursday, citing its “exceptional circumstances”. Unlike Mr Bush, he views waterboarding as torture and has signed an executive order banning it.

Somali pirates vow to kill US, French sailors

The Somali piracy saga took a dramatic new turn on Monday when hostage-takers angrily vowed to execute any future captives of American or French origin.

Attacks off the Horn of Africa have become increasingly audacious in recent months, as heavily armed gangs of criminals with loose ties to Al Qaeda set their sights on ransom money for hijacked ships.

Casualties among hostages have until now been rare, but with US and French forces staging two bloody rescue attempts over the weekend, pirate leaders in Somali have issued a chilling new threat.

Experts mull Tamil Tiger link to Lahore attack

With sport-obsessed Pakistanis still reeling from today's brazen attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team, one leading terrorism expert has pointed the finger of blame in an unexpected direction.

The Mumbai-style terror attack involved at least 12 militants - armed with AK47s, grenades and rocket launchers - who ambushed a bus bringing Sri Lanka's national team to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

While the raid bears all the hallmarks of Taliban-linked militants from Pakistan's Northwestern Frontier province, terrorism expert Animesh Roul insists its could be tied to Sri Lanka's ongoing civil war.

Ahmadinejad: Iran is 'biggest victim of terrorism'

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cemented his reputation as the jester of global politics, this time announcing that Iran suffers at the hands of terrorists more than any other country.

Giving a rare insight into life on Planet Ahmadinejad, the leader told Americans: "If you really want to fight terrorism, come and cooperate with the Iranian nation, which is the biggest victim of terrorism."

He also called for "mutual respect" between the US and Iran, before informing the people of Planet Earth that he will gladly enlighten them about the "correct path" to overcoming the threat of nuclear weapons.

Iraqi militants set their sights on Afghanistan

With violence in Iraq gradually ebbing away, reports suggest that a growing number of Al Qaeda insurgents are turning their attention to the original battleground for the War on Terror.

Fighting in Afghanistan rose by 33 per cent last year, according to Nato, as the country struggled to contain tribal rivalries as well as an unrelenting wave of attacks spearheaded by Pakistan-based militants.

Adding to those woes, defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak now says that success in Iraq appears to have prompted a new influx of foreign militants, who believe the battle for Afghanistan can still be won.

Cracks emerge in 'Jihad rehab' proposal for Gitmo

Barack Obama appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place after terrorism experts rejected a Saudi initiative that had been billed as the solution to the Guantanamo Bay problem.

The president took a crucial step towards reconciling America with the rest of the world when he confirmed that the US naval base in Cuba - where high-value Al Qaeda prisoners were tortured - will close within one year.

Outlining plans for the detainees, advisers had favoured a Saudi rehabilitation scheme that hinged on religious re-education. But experts are now warning that the programme may be ill-suited for Gitmo.