Intelligence Coup

Intelligence Coup:

When I began hearing about large numbers of Al-Qaeda in Iraq members being rounded up or killed during the past week, I assumed that some sort of intelligence success had been achieved during the search for Zarqawi, and that American military, Iraqi military, and Iraqi police were moving quickly to make use of that intelligence.

It turns out that a significant amount of information was unearthed from the house that Zarqawi died in.

According to a recent announcement by Iraq's National Security Advisor, a good deal of information was found in digital form, on a laptop computer and a portable drive. (Captain Ed links to one news article; BBC news also reports about it.)

When I read this, I mused for a few moments about the term "information density", a phrase often used in computing. Information density refers to the amount of information that can be stored in a physical space--like a room full of magnetic-tape drives, a portable hard disk drive enclosure, or a thumb-drive in a person's pocket.

A significant amount of information can be held in the palm of a one's hand, using modern computer technology. Computers also make accessing and searching the data easy. That fact worked against Zarqawi's associates in this case: an Iraqi policeman was able to pick up in his hands information that would have filled at least one file-cabinet if it was reproduced on paper.

It was good news to hear that Zarqawi had been eliminated. It is even more good news to hear that his files have been ransacked and many of his compatriots have been dealt with.

Some have described the death of Zarqawi as a symbolic event, with little actual effect on the struggle against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. This news belies that claim: it appears that Zarqawi's death is significant.