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Tuesday, November 10, 2009     INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

U.S. disputes effectiveness of Iraq's 'magic wand' bomb detector

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has opposed Iraq's use of a $60,000 hand-held device to detect explosives.   

Officials said the U.S. military has concluded that the device, ADE 651, was incapable of detecting explosives and stop suicide bombers, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the Iraqi police and Interior Ministry have been urged to stop using ADE-651, known as "magic wand" and manufactured by Britain's ATSC.

"We do not agree on the technical capability of the device that is used here widely by the Iraqi forces," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Rowe said.

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In a briefing on Nov. 8, Rowe, who oversees Iraqi police training, disputed an assessment by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The ministry has procured more than 1,500 hand-held devices, costing up to $60,000 each, and employed them at checkpoints throughout Baghdad. The ministry has conducted an investigation into the $53 million procurement contract.

"We have not been able to find for our forces an assured, highly probable technological solution that allows us to detect explosive devices," Rowe said.

The dispute erupted in wake of a series of mass-casualty strikes by Al Qaida in Baghdad. The Interior Ministry has blamed police for negligence and suspended dozens of officers.

ADE-651 has been endorsed by the Interior Ministry's director of operations to combat bombings. Maj. Gen. Jihad Al Jabiri, who claimed to know more about explosives than anybody in the world, said the device has detected explosives in vehicles.

"Whether it's magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs," Al Jabiri said.

The device, shaped like a pistol, contains an antenna meant to move in the direction of explosives. ADE-651, with interchangeable cards, was designed to detect explosives and weapons.

U.S. Army officials said the device failed numerous trials in Iraq. They said ADE-651 has a high false alarm rate and was triggered by a range of substances, including perfumes.

The U.S. military has urged the Interior Ministry to conduct human and canine inspections of cars at checkpoints. But they said the ministry was under heavy pressure to reduce the lines at police and military checkpoints, particularly in the Baghdad area.

"It is a difficult issue," Rowe said. "All over Baghdad and other cities, there are people trying to get to work and those checkpoints are there to secure the population. This is the tension of an open society."



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