FBI Monitors US for Radiation

Faced with angry complaints, U.S. officials defended an anti-terrorism program yesterday that secretly tested radiation levels around the country... Angry complaints? Why would anyone be upset to learn that the FBI had been monitoring radiation levels, in order to detect any radioactive material that could be used in a dirty bomb?

Because among the list of sites monitored, which included airports, government buildings, businesses, and warehouses, were a number of mosques.

Virtually every attack carried out by Islamic terrorists can be traced to a mosque at some point. Why? Because they're Islamic terrorists. If there were a serious danger of clowns detonating dirty bombs, I'd expect the FBI to start nosing around circuses, too.

An unnamed official who spoke to a reporter about it (Washington Post article) said "now it sounds like a crazy thing. But at the time it didn't sound like a very crazy thing." Hey Jack, I don't think it's a crazy thing. The nice thing about detecting radiation is that it carries out from the source, so it can be detected at a distance, e.g., the street. And since radiation is in itself dangerous, the FBI has a legitimate interest in detecting it on public property, even if there's no reason to suspect a dirty bomb is being built. And since Usama bin Laden has declared that he wants to destroy America, and we know he's expressed interest in dirty bombs... I only have one question:

Why was this program stopped in 2003?

Labels: personal freedoms, privacy

Permalink