The debate over the images created by the security scanners making their way to the nation’s airports, including Denver International Airport, is heating up again. The Department of Homeland Security has consistently said that the pictures of passengers created by the machines at airports would be discarded immediately.
Look, I understand why people would be a bit unnerved at the thought of images of their naughty bits in the hands of the government. But the alternative — risking being blown out of the sky — is unacceptable.
In December, we learned that the explosives that would-be bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab carried in his underwear would have been detected by this screening equipment. Usually, passengers walk through magnetometers. The two types of new units are the backscatter and the millimeter wave machine. Both reveal outlines of the body, although the millimeter wave machine, which was used in that Florida courthouse, is more anatomically revealing.
When I was at Chicago O’Hare in May, I waited in a long line to pass through one of those backscatter security scanners that DHS is installing at the nation’s airports. You have to take off your shoes, belt and what-not. But with the backscatter, I also had to take everything out of my pockets, including my handkerchief. Then I stepped between two blue boxes that look like photo booths of old.
My feet went in the outlines, and my arms went up with elbows bent. I couldn’t move for about five seconds. I was then ushered to another mat with feet outlined where I awaited the verdict from the Transportation Security Administration screeners, who viewed my images away from the security checkpoint.
It was a time-consuming process, especially compared with the nanosecond stroll through magnetometers. The images produced might not be flattering, but if it succeeds in keeping a would-be bomber off a plane, it would be well worth the intrusion — and the wait.
Jonathan Capehart is a member of The Washington Post’s editorial page staff.
