Border security.

• Author: Goure, Daniel
• Position: READERS FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS - Letter to the editor

Several articles on homeland security in the January 2009 edition of National Defense raise serious questions regarding the Department of Homeland Security's failure to deploy improved sensors to detect weapons of mass destruction.

Progress has been made in preventing the entry of dangerous individuals in the country though programs such as US-VISIT and SBINET. The same cannot be said for our ability to prevent dangerous materials from reaching our shores. This is particularly the case for radiological materials, including nuclear weapons and biological agents.

As your article about the debate over next-generation radiation detectors rightly notes, the current generation of sensors perform poorly. DHS has developed an improved radiological detection system. The debate to which your article refers is not about the performance of the new sensors which is generally very good but rather the protocols under which certain tests were conducted. But while we argue about test standards, the nation is left poorly defended. If the department of defense can engage in rapid fielding of critical systems to protect our service personnel in the field, why can't DHS do the same thing for such a critical capability?

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