Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Hunting bin Laden: Biogeographic targeting
A professor of geography at UCLA believes that he has located Osama bin Laden's hiding place using math (or maybe, if you are English, maths). He even gives GPS coordinates, suitable, I would think, for targeting a Predator drone.
12 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Tue Feb 17, 09:07:00 PM:
Here is the original UCLA news release:
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-geographers-want-u-s-military-75579.aspx
By 
, at
Tue Feb 17, 10:41:00 PM:
Bin Laden died at Tora Bora. I'm sure he's still there, just buried pretty deep.
By , at
Wed Feb 18, 12:50:00 AM:
This professor is an idiot. If his algorithm is correct, publicly releasing the coordinates saved Bin Laden's life. Worse, releasing the algorithm means it can't be used to find Bin Laden because his handlers now know how to avoid being detected by it. If he honestly believes in the accuracy of his work, the only reason to release this paper is if he wants Bin Laden to avoid being killed or captured by the US military.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Wed Feb 18, 01:04:00 AM:
Randian, here is a quote from the UCLA press release: "Despite keen interest in the terrorist recluse and a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture, academics have shied away from getting involved in the quest to find him, the researchers contend."
By , at
Wed Feb 18, 02:06:00 AM:
It's one thing to "not get involved". It's practically treasonous to tell the enemy (a) where you think he is, and (b) how you found him.
By JPMcT, at
Wed Feb 18, 06:34:00 AM:
Of course, with the new Afganistan "peace pact" with radical hard-line Islamic elements along this region, and Obama's clownish attitude of telling the world how mistaken we were overthe past 8 years...the likelihood of getting a Predator dDrone anywhere near this area is remote.
OBL, if alive, can probably start working on his tan again.
By , at
Wed Feb 18, 09:10:00 AM:
"It's practically treasonous to tell the enemy (a) where you think he is, and (b) how you found him"
Unless that isn't how you found him, but you want him to believe it is.
For the life of me, I can't understand why we haven't been saying that predator drones are finding AQ personnel using locator chips secretly implanted in released GITMO prisoners. It seems like that would reduce their marketability or create some dissension in the ranks.
By , at
Wed Feb 18, 09:43:00 AM:
Didn't the Kenyan say he'd find Bin Laden quickly if elected? Maybe, this is a strategy to flush Bin Laden out of an area where he'd be hard to catch into an area (also predicted) where he'd be easier to catch?
Of course, I believe that Bin Laden has long been a guest at our resort on Diego Garcia.
By Georg Felis, at
Wed Feb 18, 10:03:00 AM:
Figures lie, and liars figure. Anytime anybody wants to prove a theory to you using their numbers, they are normally very wrong.. Nobody seriously thinks they can figure out where OBL is hiding to any degree of confidence, or there would be a crater at that location with a US patrol picking thru the rubble, picking up pieces for DNA analysis. Or if they could figure out where he was within a mile, there would be a *big* crater and a lot more radiation.
And I seriously doubt we have him hidden away somewhere. Nobody could keep their mouth shut about that, no matter their security clearance.
By Viking Kaj, at
Wed Feb 18, 05:28:00 PM:
Brilliant. Just Brilliant. It took a Ph.D. and how many taxpayer dollars to figure out that Osama is probably hiding in NW Pakistan?
I can get that information for 25 pence by buying a copy of the Sun, and also get the page 3 girl at the same time.
By Viking Kaj, at
Wed Feb 18, 05:31:00 PM:
PS. I hope you like the Sun reference since I am still working on my maths. I understand they've dropped it to 20p in some areas, even more of a geopolitical bargain...
By , at
Wed Feb 18, 10:00:00 PM:
If you look very closely at the picture, you see a little grave back behind the building. That's where he can be found. Dead as a doornail.
