One reason Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab went through the security line undetected was that nobody saw the bomb in his underwear. As a result, some airports, including all Dutch airports with US-bound flights, and Chicago’s O’Hare airport, will start using full body scan machines as part of their security protocol.
Although the machines are expensive and controversial–nobody wants full-body scan pictures of themselves to end up on the Internet–the TSA is still planning to employ more scanning, or WBI, machines. At present, there are WBI machines at 19 airports in the nation.
Under current protocols, the TSA will give you a choice as to whether to walk through the machine or receive a pat down. Which would you choose, considering the WBI images below?
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Spiegel has more body scanner images.
And yes, the WBI machines do see medical devices like catheter tubes and breast implants.
