Why America Can’t Spot Dirty Bombs
As Trump preps a new executive order to stop would-be terrorists before they enter the country, a government report finds the threat could come from within—and we aren’t prepared.
Jana Winter
Jana Winter
02.21.17 12:07 AM ET
While President Trump doubles down on the hypothetical threats of incoming terrorists posing as refugees, he might be ignoring a very real concern here at home: The U.S. is largely underprepared to detect or respond to the threat of a radiological terrorist attack on American soil.
A so-called Red Team from the U.S. federal agency charged with evaluating domestic capabilities to defend against dirty bomb and weapons of mass destruction attacks found gaping holes in domestic nuclear detection and defense capabilities and massive failures during covert testing. That’s according to the most recent annual report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.
The Red Team found significant issues in detecting dangerous radioactive and nuclear materials, failing to do so in 30 percent of covert tests conducted over the course of the year. In far too many cases, the person operating the detection device had no idea how to use it. And when the operator did get a hit, he or she relayed sensitive information over unsecured open radio channels.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/21/why-america-can-t-spot-dirty-bombs.html
