The Fake Bomb Detectors in Iraq

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/06/fake-bomb-detectors-iraq

by pepys • 11 years ago

120 92 11 years ago

A similar device showed up with the Egyptian military to detect nothing less than 'viruses' in what's been known as Koftagate.

http://muftah.org/countdown-kofta-gate-egypts-called-cure-ai...

skeuomorf• 11 years ago

Yeah, the cure for AIDS and Hepatitis Virus C was a nice touch on top of that as well.

aptwebapps2• 11 years ago

Even if you believed the claims in general, wouldn't you want to test the things on live explosives just to get a feel for their behavior?

russdill• 11 years ago

Here in lies the problem. People who don't understand proper testing protocols won't blind their testing. And they'll subconsciously influence it to work. And if it doesn't work, they'll let someone else who is more "experienced" try it.

minot2• 11 years ago

Testing is not the end of things though. Here in the US, TSA failed in DHS tests:

In one case, an alarm sounded, but even during a pat-down, the screening officer failed to detect a fake plastic explosive taped to an undercover agent's back. In all, so-called "Red Teams" of Homeland Security agents posing as passengers were able get weapons past TSA agents in 67 out of 70 tests — a 95 percent failure rate, according to agency officials.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/investigation-breaches-u...

They pushed the agency chief out and ordered more training. Are we doing some kind of Sun Tzu's Art of War style of management?

The writing is on the wall. We should dismantle the TSA. We won't do it though.

kushti3• 11 years ago

Corruption is the main reason of US&allies failures around the world.

aptwebapps2• 11 years ago

Not really, unless you mean that in some really broad sense. I think that when US foreign policy fails it is usually because it is driven more by domestic politics than foreign realities.

kushti3• 11 years ago

Afghanistan / Iraq (just two examples of reckless schemes) wars were started just to transfer taxpayers money into war corporations accounts. Such an absence of adequate goals could leads only to a failure(and that what was seen). "Domestic politics" is just serves as a screen for corruption schemes(as the whole american "political system" is just a screen for corruption processes).

digi_owl4• 11 years ago

So while it may not be corruption in the classic sense, it certainly approaches pork barrel politics.

cnvogel4• 11 years ago

For one thing, as far as bribes have been payed, I'd like to see this guy being charged to the full extent.

Also there are charlatans selling magic stones or other nonsense to the mentally weak, and I think that humans susceptible to this kind of fraud should be protected from it, so I'd say if he had sold this to private persons I'd love to see him convicted of fraud.

That being said, apparently many of his loyal satisfied customers have been the military or police, and seriously that's pretty disturbing: These are the people trusted by their citizens (well... in theory...) to keep up the peace and safety in their country. And in exchange they get to arrest people, and run around with guns. At the sam time these are the people who were not able to distinguish the equivalent of a dead rock from a scientific device to detect miniscule traces of chemical compounds used in explosives. Sure, there's some blame to put on the guy selling the disfunctional device, but quite an insignificant amount of blame, given how gullible his highly decorated customers were.

dragonsky67• 11 years ago

I'm not sure that this is necessarily a valid claim. The people who have to use the device are not normally the people who purchased it.

I'm sure that most of us have been in a position where we have been forced to use a product that is inferior or even completely broken, trying valiantly to make up for the shortcomings in the product. The person who purchased the product may have done so in good faith; misled by a smooth sales pitch, or may be actively corrupt and complicit in the deception.

I have no doubt that many of the people who were forced to use this product were aware that something was not right, but I doubt many of them were in a position to do anything but shut up and soldier.

geomark• 11 years ago

Indeed. Here in Thailand we also have brilliant generals who spent millions on these things, sold as model "GT200" here. Even after it was exposed as a fraud and the fraudsters jailed the Thai generals insisted they worked, and kept getting young army men killed using them in the south where there has been a insurgency for decades.

cnvogel4• 11 years ago

    > most of us have been in a position where we have
    > been forced to use a product that is inferior
    > or even completely broken

I might have used equipment that was inferior, or been made to perform a procedure of which I thought it will add very little, or maybe almost none value. I definitely haven't been in a position where I have been forced to use something equivalent of a dead brick, and pretend as if it would do something very technically sophisticated (bomb detection).

    > I have no doubt that many of the people who were
    > forced to use this product were aware that something
    > was not right

For some almost-untrained security guard, I'd say this is probably right. Add to this the context of living in a very hierarchical system where you "just do what you're told" and I certainly can imagine someone wielding a stick around a car claiming to examine it, "as long as I get paid..."...

But then, this person isn't the one being deceived about the effectiveness "bomb detector" but rather it was the leadership of the whole army/police/security-service who obviously didn't care the least to invest even 1 second of thought into what's being bought (for thousands of $, no less...). So how much thought was put into the effectiveness of the weapons being bought? The procedures of checking cars? The method by which locations of checkpoints around sensitive areas were determined?

The death of people being killed by bombs was the result of the complete ineffectiveness of these "bomb detectors" only to a very little extent, but likely mainly because the whole organization responsible for safety was unable of rational thought and planning.

fla• 11 years ago

What a nice feeling of accomplishment this guy must have, while chilling on his yatch.

No seriously, this is an horrible story. I hope thy all end in jail. Karma will take care of the rest.

jobigoud• 11 years ago

"Karma will take care of the rest"

How ironic.

I have a batch of Positive Karma Inverter devices, do you want to buy some? It works on the nuclear quadrupole resonance principles.

ps4fanboy• 11 years ago

This reply is a master piece.

ablation• 11 years ago

If you read the article, you'd see he was sentenced to 10 years in jail (and some of his 'colleagues' also received custodial sentences) and they're beginning the slow process of clawing back some of his assets.

The real issue is that "officials in Baghdad continue to defend the A.D.E. 651" - either through embarrassment at being conned, or simply because they believe in it.

saiya-jin2• 11 years ago

if you ask me (even if you don't), he has blood of hundreds on his hands. i wouldn't mind such people being executed, in some "human" way. i don't believe it serves much as deterrent for others, just simply permanent removal from our society, into which such persons bring only heaps of negative stuff... plenty of people on the planet and more coming every second, no need to cherish every ahole out there. rather put resources where they actually help

_nedR• 11 years ago

Oh God. This is sounds like the cruelest prank in the world.

From the wikipedia article is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651

" It requires no battery or other power source; its manufacturer claimed that it is powered solely by the user's static electricity. To use the device, the operator must walk for a few moments to "charge" it before holding it at right angles to the body... According to Husam Muhammad, an Iraqi police officer and user of the ADE 651, using the device properly is more of an art than a science: 'If we are tense, the device doesn't work correctly. I start slow, and relax my body, and I try to clear my mind.' In one promotional video McCormick claimed that the device could detect elephants from 48 kilometres (30 mi) away."

They should be charging this guy with murder. Not fraud.

sneak• 11 years ago

Selling magic sticks should not be illegal.

Buying them with public funds for public safety applications, however...

dagw2• 11 years ago

Lying about what your product is and does should absolutely be illegal.

shiggerino3• 11 years ago

The problem is that there's no way of holding the buyers accountable if their own countries and the taxpayers whose funds they are misappropriating refuse to do so.

It turns out the American World Police isn't so effective in things that could actually use some policing. And even sections of their proper police bought into the scam.

gutnor2• 11 years ago

Being able to sell magic/fraud legally only means that client will be more cautious when buying.

Regulation is not to protect the dumb, it is to promote competition when the majority of consumers are clever enough to not try a service that has not been proven not to be a fraud.

For example, Amazon would never have worked if it was legal to sell book online and not sending them. People would only shop in local shop where they pay for the book they have in their hands and we would be all laughing at the (few) morons that thought they could trust a website. And that works for simpler things too - would you try a different brand of food if it is legal to poison stupid people, would you even try another shop than the one you trust the owner ?

TeMPOraL3• 11 years ago

Selling bomb-detecting magic sticks to military knowing in full that they are not working and people will be put in life-threatening situations trying to use them is malicious and sociopathic, not just fraudulent. If anyone got hurt because of his bullshit detectors let a bomb pass, he should be fully responsible.

shiggerino3• 11 years ago

its manufacturer claimed that it is powered solely by the user's static electricity.

He missed out on a great opportunity to sell proprietary magic battery packs, then. A lump of concrete and a coin cell to shine a LED, all wrapped up in plastic with an oddball connector.

batou• 11 years ago

I agree that he should be charged with fraud.

However the purchasers should be charged with criminal negligence. It's up to them to check the claims of the device in question and test it before putting it in the hands of people.

Ntrails• 11 years ago

Are you sure?

If I buy floor cleaner based on a sales brochure describing a safe and sanitary cleaning product, and it turns out to be Hydrofluoric Acid - am I supposed to double check? How? By sending samples to a private lab?

What about software, I can't see the plugin source code, I can't see any tests done, should I have my own internal team test every possible code path before deploying as part of my app (said plugin might leak GPS data and something something idk I'm straw manning).

Essentially "Buyer Beware" is a very limiting ethos, because buyers cannot be experts in everything.

tacticus• 11 years ago

The reason they like the dowsing rod (because that's basically what it is) is that they just like being able to justify any action they take.

zipwitch• 11 years ago

The police here in the US would doubtless love these things. A "scientific" reason to search anyone you feel suspicious of? Sign them right up!

It's merely a less baroque version of "drug-sniffing" dogs (who cue from their handlers) and polygraph tests.

kelvin0• 11 years ago

Who needs a dowsing rod when can actually control media outlets?

yawz• 11 years ago

But... wait... Don't tell me they've never tested it! I mean with or near real explosives, etc.

Regardless... the responsible should be charged with murder.

mfoy_• 11 years ago

The article addressed both of your points.

The people in charge of "testing" the device before approving the purchase were probably getting kickbacks.

The prosecution opted to go for fraud over corporate manslaughter because the former was much easier to prove.

frooxie• 11 years ago

According to other articles I've read about the devices, they were advertised as "running on the body's static electricity", and able to detect not only bombs, but also "illegal immigrants, truffles, contraband ivory and 100 dollar bills" from a distance of three miles.

It's utterly bizarre that various governments have paid over $100,000,000 for these things.

digi_owl4• 11 years ago

Someone somewhere has to be collecting commissions...

pjc50• 11 years ago

There are a lot of very expensive weapon systems that are only slightly less of a fraud than this.

kenrikm• 11 years ago

Like the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, go watch "the pentagon wars" you're in for a treat.

Thriptic• 11 years ago

I agree. I'm fairly amazed that militaries or police forces would buy these devices without demanding tests for validation first.

drzaiusapelord• 11 years ago

I imagine this is just fraud. The government official's brother buys 10,000 of these for $5 and sells them for $5,000. He and the politician enjoy the spoils. Many autocratic and corrupt nations do this trick. Usually not this painfully obvious, but it just sounds like a typical mark-up scam.

Security forces probably love this thing because it gives them leeway into searching and stopping anyone for any reason.

This device is perfect for corrupt politicians and corrupt cops. From a purely amoral perspective its genius. It gives the politicians what they want (graft) and the police what they want (arbitrary searches).

shiggerino3• 11 years ago

It's very hard to have sympathy for believers in dowsing. The victims of the explosions resulting from the gross negligence, yes, but not the negligent, superstitious idiots.

Just shows the whole Iraq project was doomed all along.

SagelyGuru• 11 years ago

Well, it is easy to come up with glib moral indignation. However, more interesting aspect of this story is the prevailing atmosphere of hysterical wars on "terror" and "drugs" which provide fertile breeding ground for this kind of operation. Clearly, authorities everywhere want these kinds of devices at any price. So, whether they work or not is just a boring detail. This is a typical symptom of advanced irrationality, of course. This time, worryingly, on the side of the authorities.

Mr McCormick is a genius at spotting timely market opportunities. The only thing he missed out on is an internet startup around that idea <irony warning>.

piyushpr134• 11 years ago

:O :O :O

pcrh• 11 years ago

McCormick’s income over five years approached $80 million.

What an astounding story. A complete con, but man... I wish I had that kind of talent in sales...

DanBC• 11 years ago

It's easier if you can change your sales patter to fit exactly what your client wants to hear.

lordnacho• 11 years ago

That's pretty clever. Unless you hand every operator a sample bomb (or elephant!) they are very unlikely to ever come across the real thing. The positive rate on things like this must be very, very small, so it would take a really large number of samples to get even one detected bomb.

If you've ever been at an airport where they dust you with a pad (I guess for drugs?), that device could be broken and you'd never suspect it unless you had a sample of some sort.

But of course the authorities who spend the public's money on equipment must have thought about this, right?

cpursley• 11 years ago

The glove swipe tests for explosive material (supposedly).

leroy_masochist• 11 years ago

I was in Iraq when these were first starting to hit police checkpoints and the article's description of the utterly absurd spectacle of the technology in action is not exaggerated.

The article made me wonder whether McCormick eventually started to believe the technology actually worked. The fact that he spent hours trying to patiently explain the science behind it when first arrested suggests that either he started to believe his own story or was really, really confident in his ability to lie to others. Of course, the best liars to some extent do believe their own lies to some extent, which is what makes them so good at it....

knodi123• 11 years ago

he fact that he spent hours trying to patiently explain the science behind it when first arrested suggests that either he started to believe his own story or was really, really confident in his ability to lie to others.

Or he knew that what he was going to be charged with was fraud, which requires intentional deception. Therefore failing to keep up the lie would be exactly the same as pleading guilty.

If this guy can convincingly maintain the lie that he personally believes they work, then he has plausible deniability.

Turukawa• 11 years ago

I was in Pakistan a few months ago on a project. Security at the main Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad were using these. As I arrived at the airport, with massive and completely over-the-top security everywhere, stern-faced soldiers are marching up and down holding these devices out at arms-length.

Terrifying to realise, in that moment, that this is all that stands between a bomb and me.

josefresco• 11 years ago

Obligatory Advertising Gripe: The site/article feature two(!) overlapping modal windows - the top shows an ad, the second layer shows a subscribe call-to-action. You have to close both to access the content. This takes bad UX to a whole new level.

upofadown• 11 years ago

The conspiracy theory version of this is that the people responsible are really just fighting against the larger nation states. The type of bomb that these things are designed to detect are mostly used by people rebelling against such nation states. So in a sense, McCormick has stuck a blow for the "little guy" in a way that a reasonable person would think impossible.

A true anti-patriot... Possibly the most effective anarchist ever...

js2• 11 years ago

Stories about this device have been posted to HN periodically, going back at least 5 years - https://hn.algolia.com/?query=bomb%20detector&dateRange=all

e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1070732

Shocking that these things are still out there.

alaaibrahim• 11 years ago

I thought everybody knew that they don't work.

billyhoffman• 11 years ago

As everyone here has said, this is clearly fraud, if not worse. Which makes this line from the article completely crazy:

"Meanwhile, Roe’s device had attracted the attention of the F.B.I., which tested one, determined it was worthless, and sent out a Teletype warning to law-enforcement agencies."

The FBI tested this thing, found it was bogus, and did the equivalent of writing a letter to Consumer Reports. If only the FBI were, I don't know, familiar with some kind of department of the government whose job it was to prosecute illegal interstate acts. Some kind of Justice Department maybe? It's wild that they didn't relay this to a federal prosecutor.

mring33621• 11 years ago

"...sent out a Teletype warning..."

WAT?

This is what we use in the USA for inter-agency comms in the 21st century?

stephengillie2• 11 years ago

It's hard to tell with the way the article is written, but I think the FBI tested the device in the 1980s or early 1990s.

MrZongle2• 11 years ago

Not to be confused with the fake bomb detectors who work every day in the airports in the United States, though their success rates appear to be similar.

The Fake Bomb Detectors in Iraq

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