July 13, 2007

U.S. Builds Biometric Database Full of Iraqi Data

The U.S. military is taking fingerprints and eye scans from thousands of Iraqi men and building an unprecedented database that helps track suspected militants. U.S. troops are stopping Iraqis at checkpoints, workplaces and sites where attacks have recently occurred, and inputting their personal data using handheld scanners or specially equipped laptops. In several neighborhoods in and around Baghdad, troops have gone door to door collecting data. The rapidly expanding program has raised privacy concerns at the Pentagon, although it has met little resistance from Iraqis.

U.S. is building database on Iraqis, USA Today, July 13, 2007.