FIGHTING TERRORS
USA
Relies Heavily On Science and Technology
On 16 July President George W Bush at last publicly announced, at the White House Rose Garden, the much expected American strategy to protect its people from terrorist attacks. Mr. Tom Ridge, the newly appointed homeland security adviser, and his associates took nearly 8 months to prepare the 71-page controversial proposal, America’s first National Homeland Security Strategy whose implementation would require and annual spending of $100 billion.
The proposal calls for sweeping new powers for the federal government
such as (i) legislating new extradition and secrecy laws, (ii) stock piling of
newly developed anti-terror vaccines, (iii)
creation of federal “red teams” who would dream up possible ways the
terrorists might strike an attack and (iv) hence exposing the week points of the
US security system.
Quarantine
It
will also empower the US army to impose quarantine in the wake of a biological
attack and to introduce computerized thump print comparators and eyeball
scanners enabling the security official to identify terrorists from among the
foreign visitors. The NHSS also calls for a stricter federal security procedure
on state driving licences and intensive inspection of 16 million ship containers
that entire the US sports every year. At the inauguration ceremony of the
project President Bush in the address said, “Protecting American people from
terrorists attacks is our most urgent priority and we must act on that.”
The
proposal calls for dividing the entire security budget into five heads such as
(i) research to develop new effective vaccines for anthrax and small pox,
(ii) creation of biometric travel documents for the foreign visitors, (iii)
development of screenings tools capable of predicting the behavior of a visitor,
(iv) greatly expended use of improved sensor capable of detecting nuclear and
radiological devices at borders, ports, airports, and on main highways and (v)
massive inspection programme to protect critical infrastructure including
highways, gas pipelines, power plants, power transmission lines, the internet
and agriculture.
So
it becomes evident that NHSS realize heavily on science and technology in fact,
in the wake of the 11 September attacks, all kinds of fancy machines from facial
recognition database to advanced luggage scanners and automatic landing of an
aircraft using remote control, in the event of a hijack, have been proposed as
technological fixes in the fight against terrorism. The most popular option was
biometrics that consists of measurements of biological characteristics –
fingerprints are the best-known example. Others include hand geometry, iris or
eyeball scanning and facial recognition.
The
advantages of biometrics are manifold – they cannot be lost, forgotten, passed
from one individual to another and hard to forge. Two major uses of biometrics
are (i) identification of a person and (ii)
verification of his identity. All biometrics can be used for verification, but
only those that are unique to an individual, such as the finger prints, iris
scanning and facial recognition can only be used for identification. This
capital cam makes different biometrics suitable for different kinds of security
check.
Access
control
At present, biometrics have been introduced in several countries,
specially after the 11 September, for access control, or to ensure that only
authorized people can gain entry to particular rooms or premises. The hand
geometry system, which measures the shape, size and other characteristics, such
as the finger length, is being commonly used for controlling access to airports,
offices, nuclear power stations or other high security government establishment
in the US. This can only be used for verification and not for identification as
people’s hands for more identical then their thumbprints or finger prints.
Generally such biometric date are stored in a card called the
“biometric template” and a mandatory inclusion of this card in visitors’
travel documents is immensely helping the security official to isolate
unauthorized visitors. Moreover, this can be extended to require passports of
the foreign visitors to contain a hand geometry biometric template so that on
suspicion this could be compared with the holders’ hand. This would also make
passports more difficult to forge. But this would essentially require an
international agreement and cooperation, which is now lacking.
It should be mentioned here that in a security test undertaken by
America’s Federal Airport Authority at 83 busiest airports in 2000, the
security cheek based on hand geometry biometric was found to be successful at 82
airports. All a passenger has to do, while undergoing such a check is to place
his palm over a hand-scanning machine and the rest is done by a computer.
The next important biometric technique is the iris scanning, which is now
belonging widely used in American jails to identify prisoners, staff and
visitors. It is scanning is also being introduced in many countries to identify
the users of automatic cash machines. When the user stands before a cash
machine, a video camera takes his photograph and a computer scans the blown up
image of his eye and compares with the database. Since such a scanner identifies
each customer, there remains no need to insert a bankcard or remember a personal
identification number.
These iris scanners are now being introduced in many American airports
where passengers step up to a machine and get their boarding cards
automatically. But it is not possible for an iris scanner to identify a
terrorist if he travels under his own mane with his own passport. That is the
reason why iris scanners failed to stop the terrorist hijackers responsible for
the 11 September attacks.
The facial recognition, on the other hand, is unique among other
biometric techniques in that it can be used passively – an image of the face
of a suspect can be compared with the database without the knowledge of the
suspect. Such systems, connected to a network of closed circuit television
cameras, are already in use in retaining to spot criminals and football
hooligans.
Facial
reorganization
Visionics,
a firm based in New Gersey is one of the leading suppliers of facial recognition
technology. While commenting on the advantages of the technique, Mr. Joseph
Atick, a CEO of Visionics, said that the 11 September tragedy could have been
averted had the facial recognition system been introduced in American airports.
“Iris scan and finger prints were not available on 11 September of
highjackers, but their pictures were”, said Mr. Atick. “ One of the
highjackers was caught in a video tape at a Malayasian airport meeting a members
of a group who are responsible for attacking the US war ship USS Cole in Aden in
2000”, he added. While explaining the technology, Mr. Atick said, “everybody
should be required to have a close up facial scan as they check in. What we need
to do is to built an international counter terrorism data base with pictures and
face-prints for every dangerous individuals.”
But the technology is being severely criticized by some human rights
groups, who apprehend that it would violate ones privacy rights. They also argue
that the system can never be made full proof as it is claimed. Mr. Richard Smith
of the privacy foundation, a lobby group based in Denver, Colorado, says, “
Even if facial recognition systems were in place, the technology would not be a
silver bullet. Most of the highjackers are not suspected terrorists, so no
pictures of them are made available”.
Bush
Must Concentrate On The Creed That Inspires Evil
Another
technology that has been the focus of renewed interest is the advance system of
luggage scanners, such as three-dimensional scanners, remote sensing scanners
and scanners with threat image projection. The idea behind TIP is to keep
luggage scanners always in high alert by introducing Fake threat objects. Today,
TIP capable luggage scanners are being installed in major American airports, but
recent investigation by FAA has revealed that scanners’ ability to detect
threat objects is not improving despite the use of this new technology. It is
also true that the threat objects, which the 11 September highjackers carried,
were not picked up by the exciting scanners. While commenting on this, Mr. Frank
Taylor of the Aviation Security Centre at the Crime field University, UK, said,
“A really determined highjackers can use almost any blunt objects, or even a
piece of in flight cutlery, as weapon and it is not possible for the luggage to
detect such an uncommon threat object.”
Travel
history
Another
technology, the computer-assistant passengers (Caps) screaming, is believed to
be suitable for identifying terrorist who may not be carry weapons and are
traveling under his own name with his own passport. It uses the information for
the reservation system and prior travel history of a suspected passenger and
hence to isolate him for additional security procedures. These Caps techniques
first introduced by a number NHSS airline in 1998, but the idea is under severe
criticism today. The civil liberties campaigners accuse that it could be missing
used to pick up members of particular ethnic group or nationalities.
So the members but finding a terrorist or highjackers from among the
crowd from common passengers though job. Hence Mr. Robert Ayling, a former boss
of the British Airways, suggested that the best way to avert a high jacking
effort is to commandeer the aircraft for a force landing in the event of a
highjack, using a remote controller from the ground. Alternatively, he suggests
that every aircraft should be equipped with an automatic landing device, which
the pilot should actuate in the event of a highjack.
But regarding all such fantastic ideas, Mr. Chris Yates, and aviation
security expert, says, “All such proposals seem to be highly amusing and
belong to the realm of science-fiction”. Above all, how advanced a technology
is, it has to be backed up with skilled personnel and hence the factor of human
error always remains. So, many believe that no technology can be made full proof
to stop the terrorists and prevent terrorism. “But the reality is that, no
technology can neutralize the threat of terrorism. Indeed nothing ever can”,
says a security expert.
Intelligence
Though the NHSS is yet to be ratified, the American Congress has Okayed
$28.9 billion counter – terrorism package on 24 July. Next half of the more
would be spent by Pentagon to boost its intelligence activities and the rest to
enhance biometric based security system and as assistance to New York’s
efforts for rebuilding the World Trade Centre.
Another field, which the Bush Administration intends to control to curb
terrorism, is curtailing the number of immigrant workers, especially the Muslim
immigrants from the Middle East. At present, nearly 27 million Americans, or
nearly one tenth of the total population, were born abroad. Every year the
country takes in 700.000 to 900.000 to 900,000 immigrants and it is unlikely to
change due to stiff opposition by the strong pro-immigration lobby. So the
government is thinking to adopt indirect measures, such as restricting
healthcare facilities, public schooling and welfare doles to immigrants to
reduce their inflow. It should be mentioned that in an opinion poll conducted
last June. 65 per cent of the respondents wanted the border to be sealed and a
temporary halt in the intake of immigrants.
According to American policymakers, two factors are posing most serious
threats, (i) rise in Islamic extremism and (ii) proliferation of biological,
chemical and nuclear weapons. Existing military capabilities are failing to
tackle the new challenges since the enemy is a hung killers operating from under
ground. The situation would turn extremely dangerous if these killers could get
an access to the weapons of mass destruction. To explain the situation.
President Bush, in June said. “Terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are
linked to one another. This is the gravest danger to freedom at present. But we
will not allow the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with
world’s most dangerous weapons”.
It should be pointed out here that this war is no longer a war of America
alone but, in fact a war of the civilized world against the uncivilized brute
killers. It is a war between good and evil and if the evil wins a victory, the
result will be catastrophic for the entire human civilisation. Hence every
sensible government and every freedom loving and thinking individual should
extend his moral as well as material support.
Life
and property
As far as the budget allocation
for this war is concerned. It appears that the US leaders are more worried about
protecting its land and life and property of its citizens and that is the reason
why almost the entire money has been allowed for enhancing the protecting
efforts using hi-tech biometric technologies. In this regard, Mr. Sam Nunn, a
former Senator, has recently made a valuable remark. He said, “US is building
a wall around itself, like the Maginot Line, which is destined to fail. US
should be concentrating on keeping such dangerous weapons out of terrorist
hands, in the first place. Acquiring weapons is the hardest step for the
terrorists to take and the easiest step for us to stop”.
Mr. Nunn’s view is highly appreciable because the best way to combat mosquito menace is to destroy their breeding grounds. And hence it would be judicious for Congress to allocate a substantial portion of the budget to be spent to isolate the killers at their own pieces and destroy their universities of terror, so that they might not get an access to the wear of mass destruction------ -- -- -- -- in question – is it possible to eliminate terrorism without eliminating the creed that propagates and inspires terrorism? So we request him to concentrate more on the creed and the book, the ultimate fountain head of terrorism.
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