The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
U.S. Illitary using a "secret weapon" in Iraq
Qingu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
According to Bob Woodward, the "Surge" has not caused the drop in Iraq violence—a new secret program or weapon has, comparable to the Manhattan Project, possibly involving space lasers.
What is this weapon? Wired thinks that it's some kind of thermal tracking program that works like in Enemy of the State but without the need for cameras.
This could use some more attention. A program that allows military to target, track, and kill non-uniformed insurgents in an urban environment has obvious applications in non-warfare surveillance settings.
On the other hand, I do think that such programs are the inevitable future of warfare, as war becomes more asymetrical, and our opponents look less and less like opposing armies and more and more like criminal gangs.
probably not involving space lasers
CNN wrote:The dramatic drop in violence in Iraq is due in large part to a secret program the U.S. military has used to kill terrorists, according to a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward.
The program -- which Woodward compares to the World War II era Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb -- must remain secret for now or it would "get people killed," Woodward said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live.
"It is a wonderful example of American ingenuity solving a problem in war, as we often have," Woodward said.
In "The War Within: Secret White House History 2006-2008," Woodward disclosed the existence of secret operational capabilities developed by the military to locate, target and kill leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent leaders.
National security adviser Stephen Hadley, in a written statement reacting to Woodward's book, acknowledged the new strategy. Yet he disputed Woodward's conclusion that the "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops into Iraq was not the primary reason for the decline in violent attacks.
"It was the surge that provided more resources and a security context to support newly developed techniques and operations," Hadley wrote.
Woodward, associate editor of the Washington Post, wrote that along with the surge and the new covert tactics, two other factors helped reduce the violence. Watch Bob Woodward explain the strategy »
One was the decision of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to order a cease-fire by his Mehdi Army. The other was the "Anbar Awakening" movement that saw Sunni tribes aligning with U.S. troops to battle al Qaeda in Iraq.
Woodward told Larry King that while there is a debate over how much credit the new secret operations should get for the drop in violence, he concluded it "accounts for a good portion."
"I would somewhat compare it to the Manhattan Project in World War II," he said "It's a ski slope right down in a matter of months, cutting the violence in half. This isn't going to happen with the bunch of joint security stations or the surge."
The top secret operations, he said, will "some day in history ... be described to people's amazement."
While he would not reveal the details, Woodward said the terrorists who have been targeted were already aware of the capabilities.
"The enemy has a heads up because they've been getting wiped out and a lot of them have been killed," he said. "It's not news to them.
"If you were a member of al Qaeda or the resistance or some extremist militia, you would be wise to get your rear end out of town," Woodward said. "It is very dangerous."
What is this weapon? Wired thinks that it's some kind of thermal tracking program that works like in Enemy of the State but without the need for cameras.
This could use some more attention. A program that allows military to target, track, and kill non-uniformed insurgents in an urban environment has obvious applications in non-warfare surveillance settings.
On the other hand, I do think that such programs are the inevitable future of warfare, as war becomes more asymetrical, and our opponents look less and less like opposing armies and more and more like criminal gangs.
Qingu on
0
Posts
"The U.S. has some new secret military technology! It is pretty awesome!"
"Wow Bob, what is it?"
"Can't tell you! Top Secret! Trust me though, it's awesome!"
buy my next book!
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
However, Bob is probably figuring they know he knows, and he knows they'll just microwave his brain if they hear him start talking.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
Like say, 100% quality X-Ray video + Audio with remote instagib/blast weapon that traverses walls.
....
I'm going to die now, aren't I?....
I can't remember the movie though.
Dual-wielding and all.
I hope I don't get into trouble for saying that; I'm pretty sure that's not classified, since I know about it and I didn't have a security clearance.
That's currently scheduled to happen about three days before the election.
Oh no, what have I done?
The guy at Wired hypothesizes it might be a technology that has already been publicly talked about, which might require that we are able to get an initial "fingerprint" of a person before being able to track them. If the tech was developed only recently, we wouldn't have any way of getting Bin Laden's "prints."
So, covert taggants, then.
Forget thermal and low light gear. Imagine how terrifying it'd be to have a SEAL force bust into your place with glowing white eyes.
I'd shit a brick.
To be fair, shitting bricks because the god damned Batman just got all up in your face would probably be a pretty natural response.
Fox Die?
Fox Note?
I remember hearing something like that, wasn't it tagging them with a low level radioactive substance?
Something with a relatively short half life. (obviously)
---
I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
And you could totally turn the monitoring room in to a home theater.
They didn't tell me how they did it, the fact that they were working on it was a footnote while they talked about the new UAV they made for persistent surveillance.
Resident 8bitdo expert.
Resident hybrid/flap cover expert.
?
Meanwhile you can train your remote-controlled orbital lasers on us. 9/11 truth!
How do you know about the remote-controlled orbital lasers?
For real though, there is no secret weapon. Yeah we have thermal imagining, but thats no secret.
edit: that said, the reporter saying it's "on the order of the Manhattan Project" is the usual sensationalist bullshit.
Right and this from a guy who knows my rank and knows my exact location. Oh and I am a grunt now too. Awesome!!!
You forget that this is the internet.
I was absolutely convinced this was going to happen in 2004. I was somewhat disappointed.
The US Government has pushed Dr. Sam Beckett into service, leaping from place to place in Iraq, putting right what once went wrong, and hoping each leap- would be the leap home.
He has yet to find an alternate universe in which he hasn't been stop-lossed.
The opening montage for that show would be glorious
EDIT: Damn ,ilitary!!
With machinery lubricated by the tears of eagles?