As I mentioned in a previous post, not only is the technology already there, so are the machines! Faculty at my alma mater designed and built a machine to detect all types of chemicals and organic compounds instantly without any sample preparation. Their machine is small, cheap and could easily be integrated into the screening process.

However, until logic returns to the screening process itself, no matter of machines or technology will help. Remember - the TSA won't even let you carry on a sealed bottle of liquid you just purchased from an airside vendor.

How many bottles or jars containing liquids or gels does the average passenger carry with them? 5? 10? Will they need to sample every single container? How long will that process take?

Is the threat still realistic? What if the specific threat or process identified by the threat morphs and becomes undetectable by the new technology they just spend a billion dollars on?

I see more taxpayer waste and more tail chasing in our future

I think they're just shaking their heads & ; the ones laughing loudest, I believe, are those who reside in caves in certain parts of the Middle East...

Right. A reaction primarily to pre-empt or assuage Congressional hand-wringing. And if it perpetuates the Politics of Fear in the minds of the electorate, well that's real good too.

Never mind that by the time any such technology was implemented the bad guys would have moved on to the next methodology. Or softer targets. It would be nice if we could be one step ahead of them, but I'd settle for being even. One (or two) steps behind just doesn't cut it.

Pakistani villas, I think.

^ I was talking to a friend who is one of those "Air passengers are on the front lines on the war on terra" types (nevermind the police, or TSA, or postal workers who feel the same way). Anyway, as far as he's concerned, there should be 100% screening of every item going onto a plane...bags, cargo, people everything. And by screening he means x-ray and ETD. BTW he works in law enforcement (but not a sworn officer) and yeah, he travels by air no more than 2 times a year. The argument that such measures would effectively kill business travel and probably commercial airlines in general? He doesn't see it..."people will just have to adjust how they do business then."

And that is a very government-authority attitude that seems to be very prevelant among law enforcement and military types. It is bred in the training.

Fortunately we still have elected officials.

... has anyone read the info on the bottle screening devices web site they have cooked up... yeea, they have a web site for the solicitation... well delving into that you gotta read all the hoops that procurement is doing with this... wonderful little pdf file available here

so there are 9 levels of technical readiness levels of assessment... from risk assessments to cost analysis... from what i see, and my experiences working with the government, i'd say this assesment will be about an 18-24 month process before they come to any real conclusion...

yup... no water for you!

Not to mention the way DHS R&D procurements work:
1 - allocate an absurd fraction of the money and time it actually will take
2 - rush out a half-baked RFP
3 - modify and/or withdraw it repeatedly
4 - finally accept white papers
5 - deposit all white papers into a black hole
6 - give the funding to two or three of the politically connected usual suspects
7 - pull the plug, after finally realizing that once again nothing they've come up with will be workable
8 - repeat

And the whole exercise is pointless anyway because there's nothing resembling quality assurance in the explosives screening process. (See above 5-8 for what has been going on since pre-9/11 days with proposals for QA.)