Brown Man Death Ray?

Alright. What kind of fucking secret assassination technology has the US developed and is running in Iraq since the surge that Bob Woodward would describe as equivalent of the invention of the tank? So dangerous that insurgent leaders, if they knew about it, would "get their ass out of town?" Stuff that "military novels are written about."

What does that even mean? I'd say it's just CIA death squads, but Woodward made it sound like it was technological in nature. Additionally, if it wasn't Bob Woodward I would think it was total hyperbole.