COMMENTING on the increased number of cellphones in Iraq, Mickey Kaus writes:

I would just suggest that, in the kind of war we are fighting, the proliferation of cell phones and other means of fast communication may not be an unalloyed good–e.g. if the cells are used to efficiently spy and coordinate bomb attacks.

Well, nothing’s an unalloyed good. But as the terrorists become less popular all the time, the proliferation of cellphones becomes more and more useful. As StrategyPage notes:

While these improved communications have aided the terrorists, it has hurt them more. People reporting terrorists via phones or Internet, often get a very swift response. As more Iraqis die from terrorist attacks, more phone calls are made reporting terrorist activity. There have been cases where terrorist gangs have tried to seize all the cell phones used in a neighborhood where their hideout was.

My own sense is that when you’re dealing with a small and unpopular group that depends on concealment and intimidation to survive, more communications are likely to be better, not worse.