U.S. general laments Google Earth capability

[<rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070621/tc_nm/usa_military_google_dc_1;_ylt=Aj0A
0oXe9G5rmNLHfeY.wU4E1vAI

By Kristin Roberts 
Thu Jun 21, 6:06 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of U.S. Air Force intelligence and
surveillance on Thursday said data available commercially through online
mapping software such as Google Earth posed a danger to security but could
not be rolled back. 

"To talk about danger is, if I may, really is irrelevant because it's
there," said Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance.

"No one's going to undo commercial satellite imagery," he told reporters in
Washington.

Deptula cited Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq:GOOG - news) Google Earth, which gives
Web users an astronaut's view of the earth and allows them to zoom down to
street level. He said it had provided anyone with a credit card the ability
to get a picture of any place on earth.

"It is huge," he said. "It's something that was a closely guarded secret not
that long ago and now everybody's got access to it."

Asked if the U.S. military might try to implement restrictions or blackouts
on imagery of some areas, Deptula said he was not aware of such an attempt.

"I don't want to speak to specifics, but not that I'm aware of," he said.

Instead, governments are trying to mitigate the effect through camouflage,
concealment and deception, he said, providing no other details.

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