The “Dowsing” bomb detector ADE-651 has undergone an export ban from Britain where the device is manufactured. A recent study proved that not only was the device priced at over $40,000 per unit, it was also deemed entirely useless. The attention given to the device by British media as well as bloggers worldwide has likely been a factor in the device’s ban.
The device, according to McCormick, CEO of the company that has an $85 million contract with Iraq to sell the detectors, works on the same principle as dowsing, but uses a machine to make it more effective. The researchers, which also disassembled the cards within the reader, discovered that the primary component, essentially an anti-theft chip cost mere pennies to make, but are sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Each of the cards, it has been found, are identical, and electronics experts are saying there is absolutely no possible way the machines could work the way they claim to. As a result of preliminary studies of the devices, western military as well as airports do not implement their use, but rather use more effective means.
The export ban comes too late, according to many, as a recent attack in Baghdad resulted in several deaths. The devices, which were the primary means of detecting bombs, came under fire as many pointed out that they didn’t work. Though some loyalists have, often due to political embarrassment, remained beside the devices, there have been a number who have come to realize they have resulted in a serious breach in security that has cost many lives.
And it’s an affront to the paranormal community as well. For years the mystic art of dowsing was used to discover water, but none of the original proponents ever suggested the ability could be extended to detecting bombs, drugs, or any of the other forms of contraband the objects are attempting to detect.
The ADE-651 is similar to another object, the Quadro Tracker, which the FBI tested and found to be a complete fraud. To date the device has been shunned by militaries from the west as well as all intelligence agencies. For the amount of money spent on the devices, ($84 million plus other contracts) the Iraqi military could have bought and trained bomb sniffing dogs, invested in fire fighter services, and used the money for public works. Instead the money all went to a device that only gave the feeling of safety while letting many dangerous materials through. The ban is expected to be followed by an investigation, and word of several lawsuits has been rumored.
Dowsing is the act of using subconscious impulses and/or tiny magnetic impulses to direct a device. Dowsing was originally traditionally used to discover water, but during the gold rush it was also used to discover veins of natural ores. It follows a similar principle to divining using a pendulum. One expert uses a dowsing rod created from a length of wire bent and held in a pen cap. The device, when tested was deemed equally effective to the ADE-651, but cost only four or five cents.