Google Blots Out Iraq Bases on Internet

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:07am GMT 20/01/2007
The view down the sights of an SA8O assault rifle from an observation post in central Basra

British military bases in Iraq have been "blotted" out from Google Earth maps at the request of the Government to hinder terrorist attacks, it can be revealed.

Sensitive installations such as the Trident nuclear submarine pens in Faslane, Scotland, and the eavesdropping base at GCHQ Cheltenham have also been obscured, a search of the site shows.

Google was first alerted to the security breaches after personnel at the British headquarters at Basra Air Station in Iraq were astonished at the clarity with which all their positions were shown on the popular internet site.

The pictures, which were either aerial or satellite shots, showed the large number of vulnerable tent locations, vehicle parks and were clear enough to show tank tracks.

After coming under almost daily mortar barrages, including one round that hit the divisional headquarters where the British general in charge of troops in Iraq is based, the Army contacted Google to have the pictures of the camp blurred so that details were obscured.

Following negotiations, Google agreed to blot out British bases in Iraq after the company was persuaded they would be helpful to terrorists.

But it was not done early enough to stop insurgents obtaining copies of the pictures which, with the longitude and latitude given, help them co-ordinate mortar and rocket attacks

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