“The British government must be held responsible for all the explosions that happened,”
AFP BAGHDAD
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Most Iraqis familiar with the fake devices, made of black plastic with a pistol-style grip and a small silver antenna, do not have any regard for them. (AFP)
A policeman in Baghdad knows the bomb detector he uses is fake, and will do virtually nothing to save anyone’s life, but he has his orders.
“If I were given a mop and told that it detects bombs in cars, I would still do it without any hesitation,” he told AFP, asking not to be identified.
“The device is a 100 percent failure and we know that, but it is imposed on us; we cannot disobey direct orders,” he added.
James McCormick, a British businessman, made an estimated $ 240 million selling the “bomb detectors,” based on a novelty golf ball finder, to Iraq and other countries.
He was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in jail for fraud.
But despite the sentencing and overwhelming evidence that the devices are worthless, the Iraqi government has not taken them out of circulation.
Relying on bomb detectors that do not work is an especially grave issue in Iraq, where violence is a major problem and bombings by militants are common.
A policeman in Baghdad knows the bomb detector he uses is fake, and will do virtually nothing to save anyone’s life, but he has his orders.
“If I were given a mop and told that it detects bombs in cars, I would still do it without any hesitation,” he told AFP, asking not to be identified.
“The device is a 100 percent failure and we know that, but it is imposed on us; we cannot disobey direct orders,” he added.
James McCormick, a British businessman, made an estimated $ 240 million selling the “bomb detectors,” based on a novelty golf ball finder, to Iraq and other countries.
He was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in jail for fraud.
But despite the sentencing and overwhelming evidence that the devices are worthless, the Iraqi government has not taken them out of circulation.
Relying on bomb detectors that do not work is an especially grave issue in Iraq, where violence is a major problem and bombings by militants are common.
