BRITS TAKE IT SERIOUSLY – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  A day after we learn of warnings that Al Qaeda may start surgically implanting bombs in its terrorist brigades, we hear of a new British device that may become critical in turning back the terror menace.  From Fox:

A sensor that can scan huge crowds and pick out a lone suicide bomber by homing in on hidden explosives has undergone official tests, The Sun reported Thursday.

The revolutionary gadget -- similar to airport scanners but top secret -- is believed to silently analyze materials using the unique "terahertz" waves emitted by different substances.

British government scientists began testing it a year ago on mock crowds where one person in every 75 carried a "Person-Borne Improvised Explosive Device."

Heavily-censored reports obtained by the newspaper in a freedom of information request reveal other trials saw the guinea pigs armed with "handguns and knives."

Real terrorists would have no idea they had been scanned from a distance -- and could be intercepted before causing mayhem.

The futuristic device -- officially known as a "stand-off imaging system" -- could be used to protect Al Qaeda targets such as rail stations, shopping malls and sporting events.

COMMENT:  Sounds great, if it works out.  And notice that the only information that a British newspaper could get on the gadget was "heavily censored."  Here, The New York Times revealed details of a secret, and effective, counterintelligence program, and nothing happened to The Times.  One thing about the Brits – most of them take security seriously, despite the presence of a large, left-wing fringe that doesn't. 

Now, of course, the self-appointed protectors of our privacy will have a fit over this technology, but, really, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place.  And carrying a bomb is not a private affair.

I hope the thing works, and that we use it.

July 7, 2011