Contact
LifestreamIndia has voiced concerns over the availability of satellite imaging apparently. They seem awfully jumpy. Seems to me this is the usual establishment knee-jerk reaction to the people gaining too much knowledge or insight. And the story is getting picked up by the US press because they, or rather their corporate master, have similar concerns.
Meanwhile The Register kind of spoof this by holding a “Spot the Black Helicopter” competition. But the main hurdle for would-be “terrorists” still remains, the images on Google earth are already available to the public via other means and they are on average one - two years old. So basically if your would-be terrorist can barely make the effort to switch on Google Earth, the grueling task of coming up with a plan and beyond will be unsurmountable.
And more to the point, low-tech terrorism using only human resources and available infrastructure (airplanes anyone) has virtually no use for satellite imagery. I mean, what are they going to do? Call in an air strike or target their non-existent cruise missiles? The sort of reconnaissance needed would be better accomplished on the ground. And about spotting previously secret facilities, well, there are no such secrets in the 21st century. Again, if there is anything you need to know, actual reconnaissance will serve you better. This is like apples and oranges.
A much more interesting angle on this, at least for me, is the satellite imagery that is available in government hands. Namely the US military. Does it bother you that some geek can see your landing strips? Well the US can probably see the markings on your planes and have been able to do so for quite some time. Does that bother you? Well it should.
Well.. My 2 cents:
Most of the airbases (very sensitive ones too) are visible through google earth’s zooming capabilities. As well as some top political installations.
For instance, India’s equivalent of the White House and Pentagon are clearly visible. However, according to certain news reports,(havent tried it out myself) White House, Pentagon and other sensitive areas WITHIN THE US have been blotted out by google. So India’s so called "jumpy-ness" is valid. Other nations must also review the satellite photos provided by the software and make similar requests to google.
"low-tech terrorism using only human resources and available infrastructure (airplanes anyone) has virtually no use for satellite imagery. I mean, what are they going to do? Call in an air strike or target their non-existent cruise missiles? The sort of reconnaissance needed would be better accomplished on the ground."
This is a very very incorrect statement as most commando units operating worldwide will tell you that satellite intel gives a very accurate image of the topography and certain other "features" of a target. However since the US has barely/never been the object of terrorist attacks pre and post 9/11, the understanding is just not there amongst the common people and even in most branches of the govt. Also, the understanding of the modus operandi of terrorist surgical strike unit is not there either. For instance, recently at an indo-US "joint-exercise", some US mil officers priding themselves in being among the best in the world were blowing their "horn" a lot until an Indian Army Colonel just gave them a 5 min "talk" on Counter Insurgency. (I cannot disclose the contents….sry). The US officers were absolutely speechless and gave a standing ovation after the discourse was over. In an unofficial "bar" chat, they told the colonel that US troops and Intel branches could do with some of the insight provided by "veterans of CI" in the indian armed forces.
Oh god… i have really digressed from the topic… Sry.
"A much more interesting angle on this, at least for me, is the satellite imagery that is available in government hands. Namely the US military. Does it bother you that some geek can see your landing strips? Well the US can probably see the markings on your planes and have been able to do so for quite some time. Does that bother you? Well it should."
The satellite imagery in the hands of the NSA and other agencies is very very hi res stuff. Now, that is not so worrisome as one can be sure that US WILL NOT misuse that information. And if u think that the govt mite be spying on you for watever reasons, all i can say is , dont flatter urself!
Anyways it turns out that this post is longer than the original article. So i guess i’ll sign off now.
Regards,
Bodhisatv
Good points. I haven’t verified the blotting rumour either but I agree that if this is the case, India, and other nations, may have reason to object. This discrepancy, if true, is obviously not alright! My course of action would however not be to blot these areas but rather un-blot the US blotting. Like that would ever happen.
I basically concede to your assessment of the importance of knowing the terrain for commando units and such. But I don’t agree on the basic premise, i.e. that these terrorists in general can be equated with commando units. Certainly many dedicated groups have above-average training, but I remain sceptical to the bulk of terrorists being that accomplished. It seems to me that terrorism is a hype or a fad that turns up from time to time. Its dangers are greatly exaggerated and the actual mindset of "terrorists" is often misunderstood, or obscured by those that fear their legitimacy.
My main contention is still however that these secure facilities, whatever they may be, are still represented on 1-2 year old photos. Many of which are not all that useful from a technical point of view. And that should an actual strike team assemble, they would probably rely on first hand intelligence, especially with the parliamentary buildings which I assume are reasonably accessible in India. Remote military bases could be another matter as security is tighter. But in my experience, terrorists rarely target military installations directly but would rather choose civilian, easier, softer targets resulting in a bigger media hoopla.
Obviously I’m not so sure the US will not misuse their intelligence. So perhaps India isn’t a target today or tomorrow, but other nations aren’t so lucky. I will however agree that it wont be misused in quite the same fashion, on the same level, as a terrorist group would. Usually the US doesn’t send strike teams into foreign territory, yes, but it has happened on occasion. And I do reckon they rely heavily on satellite intelligence when it comes to preserving the hegemony, empire or whatever.
On a completely unrelated matter, I have been observing the US - India, US - Pakistan connection and even though it may be too soon to speak, it seems the US is peddling a lot of weapons to both sides, presumably to appease its own arms industry. It does worry me somewhat. I find US ideology contradictory, and dangerous because they aren’t frank about their motives.
Take the related Nuclear situation with India and Pakistan. The US proclaims that one of the reasons for keeping a massive military presence in SE Asia is to prevent Nuclear proliferation. Yet it didn’t work nor should it, but it was one of their premises nevertheless. More to the point, in this case, they make grand claims, sell weapons, have joint exercises, look the other way while all of this actually amounts to a security situation that in the end justifies retaining bases in SE Asia.