![]() ![]() “Following enrollment and upload of the biometric data to the data repositories, the anonymity previously counted on by the insurgent removed,” increasing the likelihood that insurgents would be connected to prior incidents, such as improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, through fingerprints or other datapoints. ![]() Such enrollment was achieved through volunteerism from local villages, or involuntarily from those detained as witnesses or possible perpetrators in security incidents. Once biometric data was collected, individuals were enrolled in an extensive data repository, which could be accessed by coalition and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) across the country. In a 2014 article for the Joint Force Quarterly, “Biometric-enabled Intelligence in Regional Command-East” (Document 2), David Pendall and Cal Sieg note that “the overarching purpose of using BEI and biometrics-based toolsets to deny anonymity and increase the effectiveness of security and police operations” (p.70). The biometrics collection regime in Afghanistan, which began in earnest in 2006, was largely packaged as a way to more efficiently identify and detain current insurgents, and dissuade aspiring insurgents. Investigative reporter Annie Jacobson asserts that the Pentagon’s original goal was to collect biometric data on 80% of the Afghan population, although it is unknown if this was achieved. forces in Afghanistan had collected biometrics from friends and foes alike for identification verification, security, and intelligence purposes. Over the course of a two-decade campaign, U.S. 14), identified as both a measurable biological and/or behavioral characteristic that can be used for automated recognition (such as a fingerprint or iris scan), as well as the automated processes employed to identify an individual based on these characteristics. The deployment of such biometric collection methods by governments elsewhere (such as their use on the Uighur population of China) is creating increasingly urgent civil liberties and human rights concerns.Īccording to Department of Defense Directive 8521.01E (Document 1), biometrics is a “general term used alternatively to describe a characteristic or a process” (p. military’s biometric database on the Afghan population has been compromised. At the time of writing, it is unclear how many devices have been claimed by the Taliban, or to what extent the U.S. ![]() This revelation gives further reason for concern about the fate of Afghan citizens who might be targeted by the Taliban for working with the previous government or western forces. Reporters Ken Klippenstein and Sara Sirota note, “HIIDE devices contain identifying biometric data such as iris scans and fingerprints, as well as biographical information, and are used to access large centralized databases,” possibly providing the Taliban with the means to pursue members of the Afghan government or those who had cooperated with U.S. military personnel confirmed that Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE) devices were seized by the Taliban in its offensive against Afghan government forces. In a report from The Intercept, a current U.S. Washington D.C., AugAs the world observes the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, the subsequent collapse of the Afghan government and the resurgence of the Taliban, it will also likely witness the targeting and persecution of thousands of Afghans, aided by U.S.-collected biometrics.
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