Bob Woodward: U.S. has deployed Revolutionary Secret Tech in Iraq, and It's Working
September 08 2008 / by Alvis Brigis
Category: Technology Year: 2008 Rating: 8 Hot
Last night on CBS’ 60 Minutes Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Bob Woodward cryptically let it be known that much of the recent U.S. success, or lack of failure, in Iraq should be attributed to a “new operational capability” that enables the identification and monitoring of enemy leaders of various ranks and affiliations. Woodward likened this breakthrough to the advent of the tank, which transformed war as it was deployed.
Check out the video for yourself, and please pardon the ad:
As one of the guys who broke Watergate, Woodward’s credibility is impeccable. He cites conversations with members of the Joint Chiefs and President George Bush himself as sources, but does not describe further what this new operational capacity might be.
So, if indeed this is not disinformation, what might this futuristic technology consist of? Super-fine satellite imaging? Microscopic aerial “bugs”? Micro-seismic audio sensing? An aerial drone sensor net? A new laser array?
Let’s hear your best guesses futurists. That is, unless you are actually in the loop, in which case please don’t spill the beans here…
Comment Thread (14 Responses)
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Compared to the invention of the airplane? I seriously doubt that. More than likely it’s a change of tactics, going after leaders specifically instead of trying the ground war. No one would want to be leader when they just keep getting assassinated. And after the individual cells keep blowing themselves up, that doesn;t leave many people.
Posted by: John Heylin September 08, 2008
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Yeah, sure, George Bush attributes recent success to this new technology, not to the surge that he was pushing for. In other news, hell unexpectedly froze.
Posted by: johnfrink September 08, 2008
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@ jheylin – It does seem that a change in tactics is involved, but based on Woodward’s demeanor I also think some serious tech has been deployed.
@ johnfrink – Sure this could all be mind-gaming, but isn’t it about time something crazy shook things up on the battlefield. —Also, it’ll take deeply systemic solutions to “win the peace”, as Tomas Barnett puts it, not just a super-duper-top-secret weapon.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 08, 2008
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Tank, airplane? Tracking leaders? We’re talking smart dust.
He talks about a Manhattan Project style effort on NBC.
How the manufacturing is performed is the key question.
I’m really worried that it’ll never go public, deemed too dangerous to fall into enemy hands. This is the kind of thing that could bring us true direct democracy and world peace through winning the war on poverty.
Posted by: tk421 September 09, 2008
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That, or micro UVAs with some sort of fly on the wall capability.
Most likely though, and I cant believe I didnt think of this last night, but we’ve started a catch and release program for insurgents, bugging them while they’re asleep, so we can track them back to their leaders.
Posted by: tk421 September 09, 2008
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Cool ideas!
or micro UVAs with some sort of fly on the wall capability.
That definitely crossed my mind as well. Kinda seems like big smart dust.
Most likely though, and I cant believe I didn’t think of this last night, but we’ve started a catch and release program for insurgents, bugging them while they’re asleep, so we can track them back to their leaders.
This seems very plausible considering that it’d be difficult to scan for such devices out in the desert, especially if they’re very small. Also, these could be complemented with a compound inserted into the blood that makes satellite or other tracking easy.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 09, 2008
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It’s smart dust: RFID tags the size of small pepper grains, packaged in grenades, mortar rounds, artillery shells. Their cases are modeled after seeds and pollen that sticks effectively to animals & such, colored to match local dirt and grime. How it works:
Your unit is taking fire, so you call in a couple of rounds of artillery that cover the enemy position in tags. As your guys advance, the attackers fade away as usual. That night, helicopters scan the town, and within a couple of hours, the door kicker squads are rounding up your attackers and their friends at home.
Scanners are also located at checkpoints & available as portable wand units. Every munition’s smart dust will have its own RFID serial number, so you can keep track of who was where, and ignore ones too old to be reliable markers on your insurgent targets.
Countermeasures are somewhat difficult. If you change & abandon your clothes, they will be found and the oppo gets your DNA. If you dress up head to toe in disposable rain gear, that marks you by itself at and near your ambush site. Some type of electromagnetic pulse device that kills them would be great, but the military has lots of experience designing electronics that are resistant to extreme EMP signals.
Once the stuff becomes well known, people will start using known contaminated clothing, or normal dust swept up at ambush sites, to flag their personal enemies & get them in a world of trouble. Nothing’s perfect…
Posted by: CheechWizard September 09, 2008
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Damn CheechWizard, that’s a sick theory. Who are you working for…
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 09, 2008
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guys.. the most logical thing it could be is the “Airborne Tactical Laser”, or ATL, that the military has been developing for years.
Here’s one clip about it.. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10018808-42.html
It’s basically an AC-130 gunship with a 100 kWatt laser instead of guns. It has a range of 5 miles or more.. and the laser beam makes no noise and is invisible and makes an instant, precise beam.
Do a google search for “military laser” or “atl laser”
Posted by: rumurphy September 10, 2008
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And they actually “announced” a successful airborne to ground test in August of the ATL.. but I bet you that test was done months before.. they always postpone announcements like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_tactical_laser
Posted by: rumurphy September 10, 2008
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after rewatching the clip.. Woodward’s quote is:
“there are secret operational capabilities that have been developed by the military to locate, target, and kill leaders of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, insurgent leaders, renegade militia leaders that is one of the true breakthroughs”
The ATL lasership system is designed to Locate, Target, and Kill effectively. Probably through the use of UAVs to locate and target by infrared.. and then the ATL Hercules laser plane comes in at a safe distance of over 5 miles away and instantly focuses a beam on the lit up target by the UAV. Reports have been said that the target’s clothes would combust and the victim would suffer severe instant trauma. I mean this makes so much sense.
Posted by: rumurphy September 10, 2008
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My question is why did they just start using it now? Is it really because the technology suddenly came to fruition? This seems a bit unlikely as it just seems to coincide with the surge. My guess is that they were reluctant to use it and only did so when there was even more politically at stake than there had been before. Question is, why would they be reluctant?
Posted by: Mielle Sullivan September 10, 2008
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@ rumurphy – I think the airborne tactical laser is a viable candidate, certainly in lieu of the successful testing it has undergone. (Thanks for those links!) But I do think that it is a bit lacking when it comes to the location part of the equation. It may just be a part, albeit a big one, of the technology pie alluded to by Woodward.
re: location – I still think some satellite, sensor net, drone net, or all of the above technology involving thermal and biometric sensing/analysis is likely here.
Mielle: My question is why did they just start using it now? Is it really because the technology suddenly came to fruition? This seems a bit unlikely as it just seems to coincide with the surge. My guess is that they were reluctant to use it and only did so when there was even more politically at stake than there had been before. Question is, why would they be reluctant?
Why start using it now? The election. It’s a critical time to sway public opinion to support ongoing operations in Iraq and McCain. Memetic Warfare. Super-Duper-Top-Secret-Weapon Exists = Could the surge really be working?
Why wait? Because once terrorists/other govts/inventors/civilians become aware of this they can begin to develop counter-measures. I suspect that keeping the lid on things is becoming more and more crucial in the acceleration era, as the govt tech advantage/lead-time inevitably shrinks.
It’s definitely an Ace int he hole that is now used up. I wonder how many more aces will be revealed as we near the November elections.
And of course it might also a last minute attempt to salvage legacy by the administration.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 10, 2008
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Be sure to check out this follow-up piece hilighting some of these comments and featuring my amazing composite aerial drone artwork (that’s sarcasm).
Posted by: Alvis Brigis September 10, 2008
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