Body Scanners Create Profits for Chertoff and Others

Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Michael Chertoff
Expanding the use of full-body scanners at airports will improve the nation’s security, says the Obama administration.
 
It also will benefit the manufacturers of the equipment, including those lobbying on their behalf, like former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
 
Chertoff’s consulting firm, the Chertoff Group, represents OSI Systems, one of two companies licensed to sell full-body scanners to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). OSI, maker of the Rapiscan machine, garnered attention recently because its CEO, Deepak Chopra (no relation to the spiritual author and speaker), was invited to travel with President Barack Obama on his trip to India. The arrangement demonstrated the closeness of the company with the White House, and the trip was a potential money-maker for OSI, now that India plans to install scanners at its airports in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
 
Chertoff has not been shy about exploiting terrorism incidents to his client’s advantage, appearing on television as an expert after the attempted bombing of the Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day 2009 to advise the nation that it should invest in full-body scanners for airports.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
Body Scanner CEO Accompanied Obama to India (by Daniel Tencer, Raw Story)

Comments

Reynaldo Hernandez 11 years ago
At the very lease, it appears that there is a conflict of interest, and needs to be treated as such.
Jeff Buske 13 years ago
the revolving door and conflict of interest are a problem and could be overlooked if the equipment did not create a public health risk. directing focused x-rays to skin generates statically more difficult to repair double dna breaks, comparing collimated x-rays to "bananas" or a few minutes of air flight random gamma/cosmic rays are inaccurate. expecting mothers, fair skinned people, young children and people with dna repair issues should protect them shelves from medicaly unnecessary. http://www.rockyflatsgear.com/how-penetrating-are-airport-back-scatter-x-rays.html http://www.rockyflatsgear.com/how-penetrating-are-airport-back-scatter-x-rays.html
Julie 13 years ago
So Chertoff found a job working in the industry he knows most about. That should surprise you? Most politicians do the same thing to get a paycheck. Somehow I don't think Greenpeace was looking to hire him. And body scanners make flying safer. Frankly, I'd rather put myself and my kids on a flight where all the passengers have been scanned or searched, than take a flight that was not inspected. Now if only they'd pay the same attention to the cargo and mail and other materials put on those flights. We don't have a RIGHT to fly, and I'm thankful we still can.
Mike Licht 13 years ago
There are body scanner alternatives. See: http://bit.ly/aPcNfG

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