RE: TERRORISM: Seriousness and potential strategies

From: Miriam English (miriam@werple.net.au)
Date: Sat Sep 15 2001 - 23:08:48 MDT


At 06:42 AM 16/09/2001, Barbara Lamar wrote:

>As far as face recognition software used from aloft, it would be of little
>use. From above, you can't see a person's face if they're wearing a head
>covering that obscures their face, even if you have the most sophisticated
>cameras and software. Since one can't bring in vehicles or march large
>groups of people over narrow mountain trails, bin Laden's people would have
>to be fought on their own terms, and they're far better prepared for the
>fight, since they know the terrain intimately, have supply bases set up
>there and so forth. It would be a difficult task to drop supplies to our
>people from the air because the terrain would make it difficult for the
>ground troops to get to if it didn't land in exactly the right spot, and the
>treacherous mountain winds would make it difficult to hit the right spot and
>impossible to land even the most agile helicopter.

Excuse my pursuing this idea, I blame the engineer in me. :-)

If the flying devices were as small as seagulls or hawks and were able to
land and take off again (this is actually easier on mountainsides than on
flat ground) then they would be able to look across at people from
neighboring hillsides and see their faces. In fact once on the ground they
use very little power at all. If they could be camoflaged as rocks, the way
some birds already do so damn well, then they would be incredibly
unobtrusive -- almost invisible even from a few meters away. (I have been
startled by a previously unseen bird flying up from open ground only a few
feet away from me, and I have excellent eyesight.) They could settle in on
hillsides opposite known trails and just watch, beaming info up to
satellites only when they have something to send. If a human came too near
for comfort they could launch themselves again, just looking like an
alarmed bird, and go somewhere else.

Of course your point about face coverings remains a major problem...
perhaps an insuperable one. Is anybody aware of distinguishing clothing
patterns?

Cheers,

         - Miriam

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