" “We interrogated them to get new information and to verify older intelligence. Then we passed them off to other agencies and units. We did all of this, including handoffs, as rapidly as possible so no intelligence would get stale.”
Captain Morrow stressed that the database and link diagram had to be simple enough to tie together information flowing in from various sources, e.g., human intelligence (the most important), spot intelligence reports from other units in the field and items such as photos found on captured enemy personnel, photos that might, for instance, depict the bodyguard who carried them posing with a known associate of Saddam Hussein, or Saddam Hussein himself. It was the use of these multiple sources that defined data mining in this case."
Absolutely great post. In this case, it looks like data mining was just one tool in the tool case. The description of the process is super cool. It's like a hybrid blend between police work, which tends to be information rich and relatively little slow paced, and military action, which tends to be fast, above all else, gathering whatever information you can, making the best guess, and acting. I find the whole thing kind of mind blowing.
It would be great if a similiar techique would work on Bin Laden