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New defence's needed to stop a fanatical foe
When the bombers finally came on July 7 there was a sense that Britain's capital had finally taken its inevitable place in the terrorists' sights. But the second wave of attacks last Thursday - despite the fact that all four bombs failed to go off and no lives were lost - made it clear that 7/7 was no one-off and that London and Britain's other cities remain a constant target. Attention is now turning to one crucial question: how can we protect ourselves from these fanatics? It is a question that is preoccupying not only the government and the intelligence services, but also the businesses and citizens they are supposed to protect. Humiliated by the failure to predict the two attacks, and faced with personnel shortages in both police and M15 at the same time as growing demands to beef up security at high-risk targets, the intelligence services are looking to new technology for a solution. They are now casting an envious gaze to the United States, where senators have just approved a $31bn Homeland Security Bill which will improve border controls, airline safety, baggage security and transport protection.
They have also tried electronic, hyper-sensitive 'sniffer' devices for airports, capable of sensing minute traces of explosives on travelers' passports and tickets. "It is no secret that they have poured huge amounts of money into research and development since 9/11," said one defence source. "Unobtrusive surveillance and detection are the watchwords involved in these projects. "What you have got to remember is that when you pass through an airport metal detector's magnetic arch you are being scanned by technology that is 30 years old. There are now ways and means of defeating that. "The latest generation of scanners can sweep across an airport or station concourse very quickly, picking up anything suspicious. It is especially useful in tackling the growing threat posed by suicide bombers. However, no technology is 100% perfect, and it is extremely costly: for example, the units tested in the US run into hundred of thousands of pounds per piece." The new generation of scanners effectively strip subjects bare by employing terahertz radiation, an almost unused range of frequency lying between infra-red and microwave radiation. T-rays can pass through clothing, plastic and paper to reveal hidden objects. Unlike X-rays, they do not harm the body. Substances, including explosives, also emit terahertz rays naturally, and scientists are working on ways to search for specific T-ray fingerprints. TeraView, a company based in Cambridge, the National Physical Laboratory and Qinetiq, the defence research company, are among the many groups investigating the possible security applications of this unexploited part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Qinetiq's own millimeter-wave camera, originally developed as an MoD project designed to help pilots cut through thick fog, has been touted for counter-terrorism use and has already been used in the Euro tunnel to detect illegal immigrants. So far, airports have rejected the use of cameras because they effectively see through the clothes of passengers, but there are also serious cost implications. Qinetiq is also developing cameras linked to sophisticated software that can spot potential terrorists on public transport by detecting unusual behavior. Trials are being undertaken to test the system, codenamed Praetorian, in America. Continued >> |
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SINCE
9/11, and especially after the Madrid train bombings, London has been braced for
a terrorist attack. Civil emergency plans were repeatedly redrawn and elaborate
dress rehearsals staged to cover every conceivable crisis. 