Spy Photos
12. Qatar,
2002
Taken by
DigitalGlobe, a commercial satellite company, this image of the U.S.-leased Al Udeid airbase in the tiny
Persian Gulf country of Qatar quickly and visibly drew domestic and
international attention to the ongoing U.S. military buildup in the Persian
Gulf in preparation for a possible war with Iraq. The image, which the
GlobalSecurity.org Web site made public, was the single most requested image in
the Web site's history, generating stories by major U.S. and foreign broadcast,
print, and other media. The planes to the right are KC-135R Stratotanker
refuelers, while the lone plane to the left is a C-17 Globemaster transport.