Expect to Watch this War from Above

Detailed satellite imagery, the kind once reserved for classified reconnaissance by secret spy agencies, may give the world its first look at war from — some might say — God’s point of view. “This will be an observed war, I think, to a degree we haven’t seen before,” said Steve Livingston, a George Washington University professor and expert in technology and the media. Satellite imagery has been a staple of big-news journalism during the past two years, most prominently in the U.S.-China spy plane incident. Images of the U.S. spy plane on the Lingshui military airfield at Hainan Island were seen around the world. Such pictures weren’t available during the Afghanistan conflict when the Pentagon bought all available commercially-owned satellite images and kept them secret. This time, most experts think such “checkbook shutter control” will be impossible. But seeing stranded planes or nuclear reactor parking lots is one thing; watching a war from above is quite another. The world might see everything from military encampments, to troop movements, to bomb damage, to refugee camps, to human carnage. Full Story