I've always been a bit sceptical over the claims made proclaiming the virtues of spy satellites. I think the fuss all started when the JFK administration threatened to start the Thirld World War over missile bases in Cuba photographed by US Spy Planes. Then came the satellite era, and for years we were led to believe that if you so much as scratched your arse in a suspicious manner in the Sahara desert someone in the Pentagon would know about it. The myth started to crumble when the claims about 'weapons of mass destruction' turned out to be a load of spurious nonsense. Now, when the North Koreans claim to have blown up a mountain in order to build a hydro-electric facilty, US officials are saying "We still don't know what it was, and we're not speculating." Surely they could drop a hint by telling us whether a mountain appears to have been demolished?
