Googling Bin Laden…
Want to know where the CIA’s looking for Bin Laden? According to Wired, Google Earth has the answer:
After Google recently updated its satellite images of parts of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, much of the region still looked blotchy… But several small squares (they stand out as off-color patches from 680 miles up) suddenly became as detailed as the images of Manhattan. These sectors happen to be precisely where the US government has been hunting for bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Turns out, Google gets its images from many of the same satellite companies — DigitalGlobe, TerraMetrics, and others — that provide reconnaissance to US intelligence agencies. And when the CIA requests close-ups of the area around Peshawar in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, Google Earth reaps the benefits (although usually six to 18 months later).