The Art of Aerial Assassination

Dave Axe has a fascinating post on Tech Central Station detailing advances in the “art” or aerial assassination. In the end, it may be that Zarqawi’s demise on refinements in tracking and taking out foes than on the actual course of the war in Iraq, the insurgency or terrorist actions. Axe notes:

For years, the military has labored to increase the flexibility and lethality of its aircraft and to decrease the time it takes to put bombs on target. One goal has been to “decapitate” regimes and terrorist organizations with timely air strikes. Several decapitation strikes since 2003 have failed despite increasingly sophisticated weapons and sensors, due to intelligence failures.

On Wednesday, the military succeeded in killing Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi with an air strike on his Baqubah, Iraq, safehouse. For the first time in more than four years, intelligence has allowed the technology of aerial assassination to fulfill its potential.

And you figure tech and military experts will study this operation, what worked and why and how these operations could be cloned and refined in the future. Welcome to the 21st century…where the techniques are a-changing.

Read his piece in its entirety for more details.