Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS • 211sensing technologies such as satellite imaging or unmanned aerialvehicles (UAVs) equipped with cameras, antennae, or other sensors.In May 2002 the U.S. intelligence community informed the U.S.Congress of its plans to employ more advanced and sophisticatedremote-sensing and GIS technology to counter terrorist groups andtheir sponsors.A case study by Richard A. Beck of the successful application ofGIS and remote sensing in counterterrorism was published in 2003 inThe Professional Geographer (vol. 55, no. 2, 170–79, under the title“Remote Sensing and GIS as Counterterrorism Tools in the AfghanistanWar: A Case Study of the Zhawar Kili Region”). The author hadnoted that the background of video footage of a videotaped messagereleased by Osama bin Laden following the World Trade Centerand Pentagon Attacks of September 11, 2001 appeared to beconsistent with unique geological features in the Paktia and Paktikaprovinces in eastern Afghanistan, an observation confirmed by atleast two other geologists familiar with the region. The author, whohad also conducted extensive fieldwork in the region, was knowledgeableabout the cultural geography of the region and the recenthistory of the Mujahideen fighters in that region, and he inferredthat the location shown in the Bin Laden footage was most likely theZhawar Kili cave complex.The researcher compiled Landsat satellite geological mapping ofthe northwest Pakistan-Afghanistan border region to identify geologicalstrata in various locations consistent with those seen in the videofootage, which was then cross-referenced against more recent andmore accurate geological mapping of the same region produced by theEarth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) of the U.S. GeologicalSurvey. This data was then cross-referenced with published NationalImagery and Mapping Agency satellite mappings of terrorist camps,which confirmed that the Zhawar Kili complex was consistent withthe geological features identified in the video footage. While therewere other locations having similar geological characteristics, the authorused his own knowledge, and that of other colleagues, about thecultural terrain and of tribal alliances and rivalries to eliminate unlikelyrefuges for al Qa’eda and its Taliban allies. This cross-referencingreduced the possible locations to the Zhawar Kili Al-Badr Camp IIin Afghanistan and also the nearby Miran Shah Post within the Waziristanregion of Pakistan. This information was then forwarded by the