Canada is already using them. The Dutch are following suit.
Metal detectors can only do so much (ie. detect metal). But full-body scanners—an X-ray machine that essentially strips a person naked—probably would have spotted the explosives stuffed into the skivvies of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man who tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day. Which is why Dutch authorities announced this morning that the high-tech scanners will be used to screen passengers on every U.S.-bound flight, effective immediately. A few Canadian airports already use the devices, projecting the X-rays into a closed room where one security officer takes a peek. With airport safety once again at the top of people’s minds, don’t be surprised if the machines start showing up at every Canadian airport.