Brits looking for innovation in war on terror

Guardian:

John Reid yesterday invoked the memory of Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the Dambusters' raid "bouncing bomb", and Alan Turing, the Enigma codebreaker, in appealing to British industry to encourage technical innovation in the "war against terror".

The home secretary, speaking at the launch of new anti-terror search technology, described "the struggle against Islamist terrorism" as a constant fight to stay one step ahead and compared it to the technological battle to "beat the Nazis" in the second world war. "In a sense it is a recall of the innovators of the past. Just as in the past innovators such as Barnes Wallis, Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers [who built the first digital computer as a codebreaking device in 1943], were vital in our battle to beat the Nazis, so now we must be able to use the skills and expertise of all in our battle against terror."

Mr Reid was speaking in London at a "resilience and security forum" organised by Smiths Industries, which showcased several of their innovative security products, including a Tadar machine which used millimetre wave technology to detect explosives, including liquid explosives, and weapons hidden beneath clothing using the body's natural radiation rather than conventional x-rays.

Mr Reid said the terror threat in Britain remained classified at severe, and disclosed the latest figures showing that 387 people have been charged with terrorist offences in the last five years, of which 214 have been convicted and a further 98 are awaiting trial. The home secretary predicted that the terror threat would be enduring "and the struggle will be long and wide and deep". In that context it was vital that not only British industry sustained the delivery of innovation over the next decade or so but also the public and voluntary sectors.

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It is interesting to see how our partners in the war on terror are trying to come up with new solutions to meet the threat from the Islamist bigots. He was also asking universities to volunteer in the effort. Do you think that American universities would be helpful? My impression is that many in US universities want the US to lose the war in Iraq.