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Article: U.S.: Iraqi bomb-detection device useless.(Front)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- November 5, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Rod Nordland
The New York Times
BAGHDAD
Despite major bombings and fears of rising violence as U.S. troops withdraw, Iraq's security forces have been relying on a device to detect bombs and weapons that the U.S. military and technical experts say is useless.
The small hand-held wand, with a telescopic antenna on a swivel, is being used at hundreds of checkpoints in Iraq. But the device works "on the same principle as a Ouija board" - the power of suggestion - said a retired U.S. Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who describes the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod.
Still, the Iraqi government has ...