Stardate 20020222.2009

(On Screen): Going into the war in Afghanistan, the US made a deal with the operators of the Ikonos earth-imaging satellite to have exclusive use of any pictures it had of Afghanistan or the surrounding area from before the war or during operations there. One sign that the US truly believes the major action in Afghanistan is over is that the contract has ended and the Ikonos images are now available again.

Most of them are not, of course, being given away for free. Some are available, however, as example images at the Space Imaging web site. They've been running "image of the week" there, and they offer this high-res image of the airport at Kandahar from December, showing the effects of the bombing. One thing that is remarkable about it is how eight bombs were placed precisely so as to render the two landing strips completely useless. That kind of precision is frightening. (I'm glad the Americans are on our side.)

There are also these pictures of the damage done in the US.

And there's this.