Iranian NATSEC: Magic? Science? Who cares!

jggimi writes: In yesterday's New York Times, Iraq Swears by Bomb Detector U.S. Sees as Useless reports of sales of fifteen hundred remote sensing devices to Iran's Ministry of the Interior, at prices ranging from $16,500 to $60,000 each. Used for bomb and weapon detection at checkpoints, these devices, that have no battery or other power source, are waved about "'...on the same principle as a Ouija board — the power of suggestion — said a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod."

Debunked by the US Military, the US Department of Justice, and even Sandia National Laboratories, the Iranians are thrilled with the devices. "'Whether it's magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs,' said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head of the Ministry of the Interior's General Directorate for Combating Explosives."

Last year, the James Randi Educational Foundation offered a $1 Million prize to "...any of the manufacturers, distributors, vendors, advertisers, or retailers of the ... device....Such test can be performed by anyone, anywhere, under your conditions, by you or by any appointed person or persons, in direct satisfaction of any or all of the provisions [in their promotional material]."

No one has taken the foundation up on its offer.