The US Navy Discussing Plans To Implant Tracking Chips On Their Sailors

Many people now have chips implanted in the fleshy part between thumb and index finger. (Amal Graafstra/Dangerous Things)

The SUN: US Navy ‘discussed plans to fit humans with microchips and track their every move’

Officers met with "transhumanist" presidential candidate to talk about controversial surveillance technology.

The US Navy has held meetings to discuss highly controversial technology which could one day allow the government to track the movements of every single citizen in the country, The Sun has learned.

A number of naval officers visited the home of an American presidential candidate and “transhumanist” called Zoltan Istvan, who believes human beings should be fitted with technology to boost their brain power or enhance physical attributes.

Istvan said they discussed the possibility of implanting humans with chips fitted with global positioning (GPS) technology.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have always predicted that with time .... and with technology getting better (and miniaturised) .... it will only be a matter of time before soldiers are implanted with tracking tech chips that can monitor their movements 24/7 .... after-all ... they are already doing it with animals. This would not only be incredible useful in a combat zone (a way to differentiate friend and foe as well as knowing where all of your soldiers are), but also to retrieve soldiers that are lost, know if one is captured, or to retrieve a body. If the above SUN article is accurate .... and mind you it is a tabloid and not a defense/military related publication .... it looks like the US Navy is now seriously looking at this program.

Update: Here is an interesting BBC report on this technology .... Why I want a microchip implant (BBC).

CIA Drone Targeting Tech Revealed, Qaeda Claims

From The Danger Room:

American drone strikes are finding their targets in Pakistan through a series of infrared homing beacons, Al Qaeda alleges in a new online publication.

The American and Pakistani intelligence services credit U.S. unmanned aircraft with decimating the ranks of terrorist and insurgent operatives in Pakistan. “Very frankly, it’s the only game in town in terms of confronting and trying to disrupt the Al Qaeda leadership,” CIA director Leon Panetta said in May. The unmanned aircraft have supposedly carried out 28 attacks on suspected militants, just since the start of the year. Hundreds have been killed, including as many as 45 more people in a series of strikes today.

Read more ....

My Comment: If the Al Qaeda posting is correct, this tells me that men died for giving it up.

Inside the Military’s Secret Terror-Tagging Tech

From The Danger Room:

The story that the CIA uses tiny homing beacons to guide their drone strikes in Pakistan may sound like an urban myth. But this sort of technology does exist, and might well be used for exactly this purpose. It might even have been the “secret weapon” that Bob Woodward said helped the American military pacify Iraq.

The military has spent hundreds of millions of dollars researching, developing, and purchasing a slew of “Tagging tracking and locating” (TTL) gear — gizmos designed to keep covertly tabs from far away. Most of these technologies are highly classified. But there’s enough information in the open literature to get a sense of what the government is pursuing: laser-based reflectors, super-strength RFID tags, and homing beacons so tiny, they can be woven into fabric or into paper.

Read more ....

My Comment: No one can no longer hide.

Mysterious 'Chip' Is CIA's Latest Weapon Against al-Qaida Targets Hiding In Pakistan's Tribal Belt

Tracking Chips. (Image from Gadget Venue)

From The Guardian:

• Tribesmen plant devices to guide drone attacks
• Locals shun fighters for fear of becoming targets

The CIA is equipping Pakistani tribesmen with secret electronic transmitters to help target and kill al-Qaida leaders in the north-western tribal belt, in a tactic that could aid Pakistan's army as it takes the battle against extremism to the Taliban heartland.

As the army mops up Taliban resistance in the Swat valley, where a defence official predicted fighting would be over within days, the focus is shifting to Waziristan and the Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud.

Read more ....

My Comment: This technology must generate a great deal of fear among the Taliban/Al Qaeda leadership and their allies (one can also throw in the families). Ignoring the military impact of predator drone attacks, the psychological impact must be enormous .... and that alone makes it worthwhile to have the drones fly over Taliban strongholds all the time.