Pittsburgh International Airport this weekend installed two full-body scanners purchased with roughly $340,000 in Federal stimulus money, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. The scanners produce detailed images of the body and, essentially, reveal a nude “chalk etching” of the individual being scanned.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to install four more at Pittsburgh International this summer and will install a total of 450 around the country at a cost of $76.5 million. The installation of these scanners is largely a response to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s failed attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day using explosives hidden in his underwear.
The problem with this response and with the machines in general is that, according to studies conducted by one of the companies that make the machines, these full-body scanners would have been unable to detect the explosives carried by the Underwear Bomber and are also unable to detect other explosive devices currently being used by Al Qaeda.
In light of this information, the cost in dollars and in violated privacy that these machines incur is absolutely unnecessary. This wasted sacrifice is demonstrative of government’s inability to respond effectively to domestic security threats. Even more than indicative of government incompetence, these machines and their use are one more sign that, in sacrificing our liberty for security, we not only deserve neither but we are also not receiving the security promised.
This flawed equation has informed domestic security policies for decades in this country and every subsequent law that expands government power and intrudes on individual rights in the name of increasing security is one more victory for our enemies. The full-body scanners installed at Pittsburgh International serve as a perfect reminder at the local-level of the liberties we have lost and exactly how we have lost them.
Giles Howard is the founder and president of the Publius Foundation. Email Giles at ghoward[at]publiusfoundation.com.