DHS bolsters anti-IED efforts

DHS is developing camera systems, chemical sensors, and other technologies to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a threat government officials warn is growing in the nation’s big cities. DHS officials say they are researching new technologies that could be used at airports and in subways, at sports stadiums and on city streets to alert police and security officers that someone is carrying an IED. “What I’d really like to have is a Tricorder for evil,” says Starnes Walker, research director in DHS’s Science and Technology division (S&T), referring to the futuristic scanners used on Star Trek. USA Today’s Mimi Hall reports that S&T is working with national labs, universities, and private companies to develop camera systems that could identify whether someone is hiding a bomb under clothes. The camera software could detect the bomb by analyzing the way a person moves while walking, or by focusing on tiny sensors that could accurately pick up chemicals used to make homemade bombs. Other computer programs could also be used to analyze cellphone calls, chat room discussions, bank records, photos, and any other documents collected by investigators that might identify patterns suggesting terrorist behavior. Walker says department officials are increasingly concerned about the “threat coming to our own shores” from abroad and are working fast to determine “how can we thwart this threat in our urban areas.”

DHS secretary Michael Chertoff said his department was increasing anti-IED efforts because the bombs are so “easy to make, difficult to defend against and cause untold death and destruction.” Since the war in Iraq began, more than 1,600 troops have been killed overseas by IEDs. Many security experts say it is only a matter of time before some are set off here. “Iraq has been an invaluable battle lab for the terrorists,” Randall Larsen of the Institute for Homeland Security told Hall. “We should expect to see these extraordinarily lethal devices in future attacks — not necessarily against traditional targets, such as subways, trains and buses, but against hardened targets such as VIP limousines.” Government officials and members of Congress are taking steps to address the threat:

—The White House is reviewing a draft of a new national strategy to counter the weapons in the USA. “IEDs remain a weapon of choice for terrorists,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel says.
—DHS’s Office of Bombing Prevention is asking companies such as Home Depot and wholesale salon suppliers — places that sell chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide and other items that could be used in bombs — to incorporate “bombmaking awareness” into their training programs for new employees, says William Flynn, who is in charge of the office.
—Key members of Congress from both political parties are pushing legislation that would authorize $60 million over three years for DHS’s new Office of Bombing Prevention and direct government agencies to share military know-how and anti-IED technology.