Concerning the current ADE-651 dowsing-rod brouhaha in which the “inventor” and manufacturer James McCormick was arrested and then released on bail, BBC news has just quoted a senior Iraqi interior ministry official, Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al-Asl, as stating:

The reason the director of the company [James MCormick] was arrested was not because the device doesn't work, but because he refused to divulge the secret of how it works to the British authorities, and the Americans before them.

Well, I don’t think so.

It was because UK agencies finally looked into this farce and found that the ADE-561 is one example of the widespread delusion so many people have that they can use sticks, twigs, wires, rods, or pendulums to detect people, explosives, lost dogs, gold, oil, or almost anything else. Ah, but Iraqi Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al-Asl is now eligible to win the JREF million-dollar prize, folks!  He is quoted by the BBC as saying:

I have tested it in practice and it works effectively and 100% reliably.

Now there’s confidence for you! I tremble to anticipate that the Assistant Deputy Minister General will apply for the prize… (That can be found at http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html) But I think he won’t. There’s no point in simply proving your claim and walking away with a million dollars, is there, sir? And anyway, you don’t need another million, do you?

WHY AREN’T THESE OFFICIALS REQUIRED TO PROVE THEIR CLAIMS? Because they’re protected by a system that doesn’t hold them responsible for their statements or for their actions! And WE support and encourage these people, friends!

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written by Rustylizard, January 24, 2010

It would behoove major newspapers and other media to devote a bit of coverage to this particular million dollar challenge. They should also point out to taxpayers how much this has cost them (you can bet some of our financial assistance found its way into McCormick's pockets). If the public became sufficiently indignant, perhaps politicians might build an audit function into government procurement and review processes that guards against woo-woo, is science based, and relies upon emperical evidence.

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written by pgrissom76, January 24, 2010

As a ex-army soldier I will say I do not want to see ANY human live's lost, US or otherwise. After following this and other sham devices I have nothing but contempt for Mr. McCormick and his woo-woo product. It is a shame that Mr. al-Asl will not listen to reason on this product. I can divulge the secret of its operation to him now and it is quite simple, IT IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD. There it is... the truth of its operation! Why does he not invest in homeopathic bombs and missiles to defend this country, as they would be many times more powerful after preparing them. If only the insurgents believed this crap maybe there would be less loss of life.

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written by Willy K, January 24, 2010

ABC World News Sunday reported about McCormick arrest. It was less than 30 seconds.

SOT:
There was also a ~ 2 minute piece on the "Good Without God" guy. It was slightly refreshing after all the reports of many Haitians praying to the big sky fairy.

There was a disturbing (to me) clip of people at an outdoor church service putting money in a collection box! The reporter said something like "...even with so little, they still give..." ACK! I wanted to puke! They should have said "... the church stills extorts money from those who have suffered the most..."

I guess a similar cognitive dissonance is at work with Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al-Asl.

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written by Wrathernaut, January 24, 2010

The million attempt is wasted on Mr. McCormick, but I think you're on to something with offering it to General Tareq al-Asl.

Unless he was profiting as much as Mr. McCormick, I can't see why he'd turn down an opportunity to vindicate himself, and a donation towards himself, or the purchase of more of the device.

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written by MadScientist, January 24, 2010

Why believe Mr. al-Asl? It is simple enough to drop him in the middle of a mine field (with the appropriate types of mines of course) with this dowsing rod of his so that he can genuinely prove that the device works. It would be interesting to see Mr. al-Asl's peers subject him to such a test.

I imagine Mr. al-Asl's "100%" test (if there ever was one, which I doubt) consisted of something like this: 3 cars known not to have any explosives in them were "tested"; all results were negative. Since it was known beforehand that there were no explosives, the device worked "100%" of the time.

I see Herc's off his meds again.

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written by George Maschke, January 24, 2010

The Iraqi government's reaction reminds me of the US government's reaction to a 2002 report of the National Academy of Sciences discrediting polygraphy, a pseudoscience on which federal agencies have extensively relied for decades. Instead of embracing the finding, however, federal agencies mischaracterized and disregarded it, as exemplified in this 2002 memo by then Assistant Secretary of Defense John P. Stenbit:

http://antipolygraph.org/docum...memo.shtml

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written by Wrathernaut, January 24, 2010

There may be a way of fooling real bomb detectors, but there's still a chance this can "go off", warranting further search.

It also gives a lets security personnel profile at their own the device's discretion.

However, both completely random searches and those at the whim of the security personnel can be done by policy that doesn't give a false sense of security, and deter just as many would-be attackers.

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Madness
written by monkeybutler, January 24, 2010

How can someone say a device is 100% reliable when it demonstrably hasn't got a 100% record? Obviously it doesn't work, but even if it did that sort of claim is absurd. The fact people are losing their lives over this just makes it an insult.

And Herc, just to indulge you, your test is nonsense.

1) If you had a real ability you wouldn't need to censor the questions and should be able to find the answer to anything. Picking questions that can be answered with vague phrases rather than absolutes is immediately rigging the test in your favour.
2) The person asking the question shouldn't need to care at all about the answer
3) Also, you wouldn't need to pick a volunteer of your choosing who you can prep (this is hardly making it a fair test)
4) you should be able to do it with hundreds of controls, not just a couple, because if you had such an ability your answers will be the only ones that make sense
5) Regardless, the test isn't about your ability at all - just the accuracy of the guesses the volunteer makes

In fact, even if you passed this "test", it would arguably be the volunteer with the ability - to select which answer you supplied. You might just be some guy with no special skill picking random sentences from a book that can arguably answer very vague questions, who's volunteer has an ability to select the answers you supplied. So you'd be proving nothing about yourself anyway, but may be able to prove your sister is psychic. Hey, maybe she's been the one with the mad skills all along?

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written by ianmacm, January 25, 2010

Obvious point: has General Tareq al-Asl asked himself why, if the ADE-651 actually works, other governments are not flocking to use it?

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I Wonder...
written by Realitysage, January 25, 2010

If Mr. al-Asl would give such a sterling endorsement of the ADE-651 if his personal money was being wasted as opposed to taxpayers? Maybe even American dollars are in play here given it's Iraq and perhaps even American lives. But unfortunately many government officials are very careless when it comes to spending other peoples money-and that's not even a new argument.

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written by Alan3354, January 25, 2010

It's possible the Iraqi general has received money from the manufacturer. You think?

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written by JHGRedekop, January 25, 2010

My protocol is very simple:

- General Tareq al-Asl is locked in a garage with ten cars, one of which contains a time bomb on a 2 minute count-down.
- The General gets to pick a car using the ADS-651.
- If the General is correct, the bomb timer shuts off and the General is released until the next test.
- Repeat 10 times for statistical significance.

If the detector is 100% effective, the General should have no objection to doing this test himself.

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written by Alan3354, January 25, 2010

I suspect the general is detecting money in his bank account.

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written by Alan3354, January 25, 2010

If the general admits now that he was "mistaken" about this device, he's admitting to wasting money, and to getting people killed. He has to "stay the course."

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written by Puppycow, January 25, 2010

They are still using these worthless devices!
Baghdad suicide bombers and gunmen kill dozens in coordinated hotel attack

At least 36 people were killed and more than 80 injured when suicide bombers and gunmen launched the latest in a string of co-ordinated assaults on prominent buildings.
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Iraq's state-run television carried no news of the attacks, but instead ran a story with a minister defending the continued use in the capital of a British-made bomb detector that was claimed last week by Cambridge University scientists to be fraudulent. The British government banned further export of the device and arrested the company's managing director. The suicide attackers today would have driven past several checkpoints that brandish the detector wands.

But tonight, the interior minister, Jawad Bolani, stood by the contraptions that he had spent $85m of government money to bring to Iraq.

"This scandal shows what we are up against," said a resident of Karrada, Haithem al-Obeidi. "They clearly don't work and the terrorists know it. They are picking us off like birds in a tree. It will get worse before the election, we know it. It always doesin Iraq."

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written by Puppycow, January 25, 2010

Now that the Interior Minister has publicly taken a stand defending these things, I can't imagine they will back down, because they would have to admit they were wrong. So the carnage will continue!

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written by TDjazz, January 26, 2010

CBS Evening News' report on January 25 was a quick 97-second exposé of the ADE-651. Let's see if other news outlets pick it up and give the story the legs it requires. Maybe the Iraqi army will realize how ridiculous and ineffective the device is when they see its pathetically comical soldiers shuffling their feet while pointing the 651 at cars, allowing car bombers to complete their missions.

Hello, CNN? NBC? Fox? New York Times?

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written by ShawnPitman, January 26, 2010

I think the failure is very deeply rooted in the Iraqi way of thinking and the Iraq education system. Perhaps you recall an article dated about a year ago saying that Iraqi police officers refused to investigate crimes using forensics because they labeled it a "black magic." Not figuratively, mind you, but literally "black magic."

If there had been one iota of scientific inquiry the country would never have been put in this position. We all recognize a gun as a mechanism capable of (1) carrying munitions, (2) creating the percussive force necessary for igniting the munition, and (3) a means of guiding the munition in the intended direction. When any single aspect is missing, we doubt whether or not the object in question is really a gun. Right? Imagine a gun without a barrel. Or a gun with no "hammer" mechanism. We instantly doubt it.

A ham sandwich must have (1) ham and (2) at least one slice of bread (usually two). If either aspect is missing, we doubt whether or not the object in question is a ham sandwich.

A bomb detector must have (1) an olfactory unit (a unit capable of detecting airborne chemicals), (2) a test processing node, and (3) a display for indicating the results of the test. When one of those items is missing, we should instantly doubt whether the object in question is a bomb detector or not.

This Iraqi general has applied LESS deductive reasoning in identifying his bomb detectors than he might apply to identifying a ham sandwich.

"Sell me $1 of garbage, shame on you. Sell me $85,000,000 of garbage, shame on me."

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written by Willy K, January 26, 2010

written by ShawnPitman, January 26, 2010
This Iraqi general has applied LESS deductive reasoning in identifying his bomb detectors than he might apply to identifying a ham sandwich.

Now, now Shawn, how would a practicing Muslim be able to recognize a hamsandwich? Isn't pork forbidden?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

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written by ShawnPitman, January 27, 2010

Now, now Shawn, how would a practicing Muslim be able to recognize a hamsandwich? Isn't pork forbidden?

Precisely. This Iraqi general would apply more investigative tactics into checking his own personal sandwich for ham contamination than he did into these bomb detectors. One could extrapolate that he feel more compelled to avoid pork than to save human lives.

Only religion...

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Challenge
written by thetruth, January 31, 2010

If Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al-As and Mr. McCormick are so convinced the device works "100%" why don't we set up a test? Put some mines underground in a football size field with a path from one end to the other, that is clear of mines. If they are successful, they prove their device works, get a million dollar JREF prize and all the glory and ability to sell their product. If they lose... well we won't hear from them again. Win for everyone!

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saving face .
written by just_me, February 02, 2010

form what i have read mr randi correctly say on this issue it seems like Assistant Deputy Minister General Tareq al-Asl is more interested in saving face then saving lives . i wonder if he honestly belives what he says or is it a case that he will not back down and admit he and his goverment made a mistake in buying the device in the first place .

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