Not the reporting – the carelessness.

A computer drive sold openly Wednesday at a bazaar outside the U.S. air base here holds what appears to be a trove of potentially sensitive American intelligence data, including the names, photographs and telephone numbers of Afghan spies informing on the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The flash memory drive, which a teenager sold for $40, holds scores of military documents marked “secret,” describing intelligence-gathering methods and information – including escape routes into Pakistan and the location of a suspected safe house there, and the payment of $50 bounties for each Taliban or Al Qaeda fighter apprehended based on the source’s intelligence.

$50 for a Taliban, $40 for the life of the source. People can moan all they want about the HARMONY project, but most of the subjects in that material are in the poke or dead.

The documents appear to be authentic, but the accuracy of the information they contain could not be independently verified.

Read the whole thing. I am not the most seasoned old hand, but if this is a fake it reads like a darn good one.

One geeky point of contention: Mr. Watson is probably not looking at a forensic image, but is poking around the live drive. It would make the prosecution of the careless trooper a lot easier if you were not compromising evidence.

Previous coverage here.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.