I don't know that I buy the "18 month" average. My friend's apartment complex, completed well over two years ago, shows up as a construction site, and I've seen several other locations as well that are well out of date. Also, the resolution isn't the same worldwide - the resolution is high at very low altitudes around major cities, but in rural and foreign areas, the resolution drops significantly. I'd be surprised if Google Earth had any useful information on current U.S. troop sites in Iraq.
The photo of my house is less than 10 months old, because it shows my new car in the driveway.
"I don't know that I buy the "18 month" average. My friend's apartment complex, completed well over two years ago, shows up as a construction site, and I've seen several other locations as well that are well out of date."
The pics they have of my house are at least two years old; the blue station wagon and van in the driveway have been gone at least that long. They do have my pool, visible as a circle in the back yard. They also have my address offset about 200 yards east of where my house is actually located. With a large enough explosive device, that might be enough, but I'd not bet on it against our guys.