Airport Screening: Full Body Scan

In the wake of the December 25, 2009 attempted bombing of a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, there is renewed debate over full-body image scans as another method of airport security. Full body scanning is already installed in some airports, including Salt Lake International. The controversial technology, first used in a U.S. airport in 2007, can find hidden objects that metal detectors can't. The Netherlands says it will introduce full-body scans for passengers travelling to the United States in the wake of a plot to bomb a US passenger plane.

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz believes there are other forms of technology that can identify explosives without "overly invading our privacy." He hasn't provided information about those technologies, he simply insists they exist.  Chaffetz introduced legislation earlier this year to ban full body scanning as the primary source for airport screening.

Dutch Interior Affairs Minister Guusje Ter Horst said normal procedures were observed at Schiphol on December 25, and that regular metal detectors would not have identified the explosives. She added that full-body scanners would "likely" have prevented the attempted attack, but said it was "impossible to give full guarantees."

"I would say right now we do need full-body scan, especially when you have countries like Nigeria, which have inadequate security, and you have passengers transiting in Amsterdam and coming here," Congressman Peter King told CBS news in an interview. Senator Joe Lieberman, Chairman of Senate Committee on Homeland Security, strongly favoured full-body scan.

The question is: Would you or would you not favor full body scanning at airports?