bin Laden Raid

GeoEye, a commercial provider of satellite and aerial images, has released satellite photographs of Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. The wreckage of the helicopter left behind after the raid by U. S. Navy SEALs that resulted in the killing of bin Laden is visible.

According to the U. S. Government, President Obama and his national security team were able to follow the raid in real time. Exactly what that means is not clear. For example, could the President hear the raiders communicating with each other? Could he see bin Laden at the moment bin Laden was shot? If commercial technology can provide detailed images of a fairly small area, it's likely that classified military and intelligence technology can deliver much more information. In order to keep that capability secret, the administration is unlikely to provide further details about the nature of the real-time information the President had.

GeoEye's images bring home a point, however. If the media and other groups stay on their toes and approach their jobs in a systematic way, the developing information world should make it increasingly difficult for governments to operate in secret and cover it up.