“ I don’t think anyone ever thought about data privacy or what to do in the event the HIIDE system fell into the wrong hands,” said Welton Chang, chief technology officer for Human Rights First, himself a former Army intelligence officer. According to investigative reporter Annie Jacobsen, the Pentagon had a goal to gather biometric data on 80 percent of the Afghan population to locate terrorists and criminals. military has long used HIIDE devices in the global war on terror and used biometrics to help identify Osama bin Laden during the 2011 raid on his Pakistani hideout. The ISI has been known to work closely with the Taliban. “ The Taliban doesn’t have the gear to use the data but the ISI do,” the former Special Operations official said, referring to Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence. But how are they going to extract the information? Pakistan will assist TalibanĪn Army Special Operations veteran said it’s possible that the Taliban may need additional tools to process the HIIDE data but expressed concerns that Pakistan would assist with this. With these data, the Taliban will be able to identify collaborators. “ HIIDE was used as a biometric ID tool to help ID locals working for the coalition.” “ We processed thousands of locals a day, had to ID, sweep for suicide vests, weapons, intel gathering, etc.” a U.S. was also widely collected and used in identification cards. military as a means of tracking terrorists and other insurgents, biometric data on Afghans who assisted the U.S. military’s biometric database on the Afghan population has been compromised. 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. The devices, known as HIIDE (Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment) were seized last week during the Taliban’s offensive.Īnd now officials fear that sensitive data they contain could be used by the Taliban. military biometric collection devices that could aid in the identification of Afghans who assisted coalition forces. This may explain some of the chaos at airports in Kabul and across Afghanistan… The Taliban have HAVE seized U.S. Only Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland have publicly announced that they would commit to resettling LGBTQ Afghans.The Taliban has grabbed the US Army’s biometric devices. "The best we can say is that we know by numbers that we will help some, but we are unlikely ever to be sure how many since many people cannot disclose their sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics due to shame, stigma and fear of backlash," the spokesperson said. That request, however, went unanswered.īut, describing the efforts as of “utmost importance," a spokesperson for the State Department told NBC News in an email that the Biden administration will continue to help LGBTQ Afghans through "diplomacy, international influence, and humanitarian aid." The spokesperson also acknowledged that evacuating LGBTQ Afghans is "extremely difficult" and "potentially dangerous." military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, advocates and lawmakers urged the State Department to specifically include LGBTQ Afghans in its pledge to evacuate vulnerable people from the country. “Even children on the street say, ‘You’re still here? Why hasn’t the Taliban taken you yet?’” “Every moment we receive threats and calls,” said an Afghan trans woman, according to the report. Several of the report’s interviewees told researchers that they were beaten on the street for wearing clothes that did not conform to gender norms, or looked “too Western.” The report also outlined how gender-nonconforming individuals, in particular, have been subjected to danger under the Taliban’s rule. “Some people are clearly feeling like the way to keep themselves above suspicion is to hand in other people in this environment where there’s no kind of protection from rule of law.” “There’s a kind of feeling that you get credit from the Taliban for turning people in, that a way to keep yourself safe is to rat out other people,” Barr said. Heather Barr, a co-author of the report and an associate director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch, attributed the attacks by family members to fear of the Taliban’s wrath themselves.
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