Military Taps Social Networking To Hunt Insurgents

Hugh Pickens writes "The New York Times has an interesting article about the thousands of analysts based in the United States for the Central Intelligence Agency and the US military who are showing how the Facebook generation's skills are being exploited — and paying dividends — in America's wars. Analysts monitor enemy communications and scan still images from drones in Afghanistan, then log the information into chatrooms, carrying on a running dialogue with drone crews and commanders and intelligence specialists in the field, who receive the information on computers and then radio the most urgent bits to troops on patrol. Marine intelligence officers say that during an offensive in February, the analysts managed to stay a step ahead of the advance, sending alerts about 300 or so possible roadside bombs, paving the way for soldiers to roll into Marja in southern Afghanistan with minimal casualties. 'To be that tapped into the tactical fight from 7,000 to 8,000 miles away was pretty much unheard of before,' said Gunnery Sgt. Sean N. Smothers, a Marine who stationed as a liaison to the analysts. New analysts, who were practically weaned on computers and interactive video games, have been crucial to hunting insurgents and saving American lives in Afghanistan. The Air Force, which has 4,000 analysts, is hiring 2,100 more. For the most part, the networking has been so productive that senior commanders are sidestepping some of the traditional military hierarchy and giving the analysts leeway in deciding how to use some spy planes."

Comments

Re:I Don't See the Connection Here

[czarangelus]

Remember FedGov giving Sunni insurgents a fortune in guns and money and called it the "Anbar Awakening?" Now I'm no rocket scientist but if it was me and my hated enemy was pleased to give me weapons and bundles of cash for the promise that I wouldn't fight them I'd take the deal and then turn around and buy more weapons. What do you think happened to that missing plane full of hundred dollar bills eh? Why did Rumsfeld fail to secure Iraqi munitions dumps while putting policy into place that put most Sunnis out of work (De-Baathification?)

Either these people are stupid beyond human comprehension or they genuinely don't care about nothing but securing HalliXiBoeMartin contracts.

The real issue is you don't want to pay real money for the resources you consume so you prop up vile dictators that crush the hopes and aspirations of people all over the world. You and your Jewish owners arm and fund both sides in conflicts all over the place and sponsor terrorism (Jundallah just for a start) and then slink in afterwards with some propped up warlord and loot the resources under the bodies of the dead. You are damned already like the dinosaurs in Land that Time Forgot with a bullet in your spinal column and a body too stupid to know it's already dead.