But their use also reflects a gradual shift as the Iraqi government becomes more independent of its U.S. sponsor, and the two countries' interests diverge. Iraq has recently taken steps, including providing a red-carpet reception in March for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that demonstrate it doesn't intend to remain a U.S. client.
Even though the United States in effect installed the government of Iraq and helped build its institutions, U.S. spy agencies have been active in the country from the beginning, keeping close tabs on Iraqi politicians and influential groups.
Officials said the satellite surveillance was aimed to a large degree at making sure U.S. commanders know where the Iraqi army is operating so the two forces don't collide.
"You have an independent army for an independent nation conducting independent operations," a senior U.S. intelligence official said. "To know where that army is so you don't have an unintended consequence would seem like a benefit."
American spy satellites are operated by the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. intelligence agency based in Chantilly, Va., that is so secretive that its existence was not declassified until 1992. Rick Oborn, a spokesman for the NRO, declined to comment.
"As a matter of policy, we do not discuss our taskings," Oborn said.
Officials declined to say where the request to use satellites to monitor the Iraqi army had originated. Ordinarily, requests from commanders in Iraq are routed through the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Operations Coordination Center before being sent to specific agencies such as the NRO.
Because the satellites are already in routine orbits over Iraq, getting images of Iraqi military positions probably does not require the spacecraft to be rerouted, only to be given new coordinates to photograph.
For decades, U.S. satellites were one of the nation's primary ways of tracking the military activities of the former Soviet Union. But U.S. intelligence officials said the United States also has a long history of monitoring the militaries of even close allies.
"I can count on one hand those countries -- and they are our closest allies -- where collection is not employed against them," said a former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official who had a major role in setting collection priorities.
Experts said the Iraq surveillance probably involved what are known as Keyhole satellites, spacecraft the size of a school bus that orbit about 170 miles above the Earth's surface and are equipped with optical and infrared lenses that can capture high-resolution images day or night.
The NRO is believed to operate at least six of these satellites, which travel over Iraq frequently enough to provide updated photos at least four times a day, said Jeffrey T. Richelson, an expert on satellites and senior fellow at the National Security Archive, a research institute at George Washington University.
Pictures from the latest versions of the Keyhole cover about three square miles of surface area, Richelson said, producing images detailed enough to allow analysts to spot a license plate, but probably not read its numbers.
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greg.miller@latimes.com
Times staff writer Julian E. Barnes in Washington contributed to this report.
