On Tue, 4 Oct 2005 10:30:11 -0400, "El Conquistador"
<serwad@bellsouth.net> wrote:

A global threat, terribly simple
By: Jatinder Singh on: 04.10.2005 [10:23 ] (135 reads)




(5095 bytes)

The latest terror strikes in Bali remind the world about the gathering
threat from a weapon less sophisticated. After pouring billions of dollars
into systems that defeat high-technology weapons, the US military is
striving to combat a far humbler weapon: IEDs (Improvised Explosive
Devices)
or roadside bombs. In Iraq, no weapon has been as deadly as these bombs,
which cause roughly 90 per cent of the army's casualties there each month.

Between 500 and 600 of these IEDs go off each month in Iraq. As the
operations in Iraq have stretched, insurgents in Iraq have altered the
bombs
and their tactics for employing them, adapting quickly to some of the
countermeasures and changes in US strategy. The threat has grabbed the
attention of the Pentagon's top leaders who started a joint task force to
study and defeat IEDs. The task force is essentially launching a
widespread
"campaign against the IED threat". The goal is to "identify and
neutralise"
enemy leaders, suppliers, trainers, enablers and others responsible for
using IEDs against coalition forces in Iraq. At the same time, task force
members are identifying material and nonmaterial solutions to counter
IEDs.

Initially, IEDs in Iraq were small charges made from individual 60mm and
81mm mortar rounds. In response to the up-armoring of American Humvees,
the
military's primary tactical vehicles, insurgents increased the size of the
bombs, using 122mm and 152mm artillery shells. They then began using
multiple stacks of heavy artillery shells, or multiple launch rocket
warheads. Insurgents have buried 500 and 1000 pound aircraft bombs to
target
heavy armored vehicles such as tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. The
bombs are buried vertically, pointing upward, with the weapons' nose just
below the surface. The hard packed dirt around the bomb focuses the
explosion upwards and against the underside of the vehicle. A bomb of that
size can generate a blast equivalent to 10 large anti-tank mines. A
vehicle
borne IED, or VBIED containing 18x155 mm projectiles, can vaporise the
vehicle and other vehicles parked nearby.

The very simplicity of IED construction foils efforts to develop a
technological solution. The only vulnerable point is the remote triggering
mechanism - often a radio, cell phone or garage-door opener. The most
successful technologies have been electronic countermeasures that jam the
signals. It is not sure whether all radio frequencies can be jammed.

Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf is likely alive today because his
motorcade was equipped with a bomb jammer that prevented the explosion of
five radio-controlled bombs hidden on a Rawalpindi bridge last December.
In
the aftermath of the attack, Pakistani officials described the president's
bomb jammer as capable of blocking radio transmissions within 200 meters
of
the president's limousine. When Musharraf's motorcade had moved about 200
meters past the bombs, they exploded - no one was hurt because the bridge
had been closed to traffic. While US troops in Iraq have begun using bomb
jammers, the numbers remain small.

In Iraq, the perception is that it's the insurgent not the American
soldiers, who has the initiative when it comes to executing these IED
operations. The home-built weapons allow insurgents to strike when and
where
they choose, avoiding casualties and close battles with better armed, and
better trained US troops. The insurgents try to discover why and at what
times American patrols travel along specific routes. Insurgents have even
used hoax IEDs placed in plain view so they can watch the American
response
and gather intelligence on security methods and bomb disposal team
operations to prepare for future attacks. IED target selection is done
with
the intent of maximising casualties and media exposure. They target
civilian
SUVs, as they believe these transport American government officials and
intellgence agents. They also target fuel tankers, as the flames and smoke
makes for compelling television footage.

In India, even the Naxalites are gradually acquiring the expertise for
manufacturing and using IEDs. There is no dearth of availability of raw
material, that is, explosives, artillery shells (declared obsolete) etc
with
armed forces and on being declared obsolete finding its way to scrap
dealers. The authorities have to ensure that accounting of explosive
material within India is meticulous. The checking of containers containing
imported war zone scrap assumes added importance considering the number of
accidents which have taken place with this scrap confirming the fact that
a
number of explosive artillery shells get imported with the scrap since the
exporting countries are keen to get rid of obsolete artillery shells
(ideal
raw material for IEDs). All the concerned agencies need to be well
informed
about the use of IEDs in conflict-prone areas to derive lessons in our own
context. The IED threat is looming, let us be ready.

The writer is a retired major general

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