U.S. Uses Biometrics to ID Iraqis, Afghans

The New York Times reported today on the U.S. military’s impressive biometric database of Iraqi and Afghan residents: a bank of information that helps officials identify more than 3.7 million people in the two countries.

The database was created and is operated by American, NATO and local forces. Amazingly, one in every 14 Iraq citizens and one in every 20 Afghan residents have been added to the database.

Collecting the biometric information is a tall order. Soldiers and police officers in the two nations take digital scans of each person’s eyes, as well as photos of their face and fingerprints. All detainees and prisoners—as well as applicants for government jobs—also must undergo biometric screening.

Most of the Iraqi and Afghan residents in the database are males, because they cause much more trouble for the U.S. military than local women. But by now, the technology is everywhere in Iraq and Afghanistan:

"A citizen in Afghanistan or Iraq would almost have to spend every minute in a home village and never seek government services to avoid ever crossing paths with a biometric system."

And the capabilities are proving invaluable:

"What is different from traditional fingerprinting is that the government can scan through millions of digital files in a matter of seconds, even at remote checkpoints, using hand-held devices distributed widely across the security forces."

In fact, the database has proven so useful in the Middle East, some wonder if the U.S. will bring the idea home. While several government and law enforcement agencies have sought similar technology for building a biometric database, privacy protections have won out every time.

Read even more backstory here.