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Sunday, December 27, 2009

How Will Airlines Deal With Rectal Bombers?

One thing that did not get nearly the media attention the Nigerian bomber did is possibly the worst threat-the rectal bomb.

In "Hatred is the Mother of Invention"

One of the growing threats facing airline security is bombs carried inside the body, which may be able to evade conventional scanners. In August an Al-Qaeda militant passed through several airport security checks with a bomb hidden in his rectum.

After taking two flights he detonated the device at the private palace of his target, a prominent Saudi prince. The blast blew the bomber to pieces and left his arm embedded in the ceiling but failed to kill his target.

Security officials admit there is little screening technology available to stop people hiding bombs in bodily orifices. “It’s one of the industry’s biggest concerns,” said a source.

That is a bit of a kink in the rectal bombing methodology. However, generally the human body is better equipped at expelling things from the rectum than stuffing things in there. One assumes that the next rectal bomber will take actions to make that happen.

Even Naked Air, as Thomas Friedman suggested years ago, would not prevent the rectal bomber, so this will be tough to solve.