Posted on 03/15/2006 5:57:27 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON — President Bush said Monday that new technology and better training has helped cut the lethality of improvised explosive devices by half in recent months, but that roadside bombs remain a threat to coalition forces and thus Iraq’s stability.
In a speech at George Washington University, the first of three planned for this week, Bush said that tips from Iraqis about bombmakers have increased tenfold in the last year, which have led troops to several large weapons caches in recent weeks.
But he said that insurgents have been quick to adapt their tactics to U.S. raids and technology, noting that in some cases “the enemy can use even the smallest details to overcome our defenses.”
Bush also said that recent intelligence has shown many of the most powerful IEDs have components from Iran, and said intelligence services have found evidence that country is providing Shia militias with instructions on how to build and operate the remote explosives.
“Such actions, along with Iran’s support for terrorism, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, are increasingly isolating Iran,” he said. “America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats.”
Since the start of military operations in Iraq, 937 troops have been killed by explosive devices and more than 9,600 have been wounded by them, according to Defense Department statistics. Another 70 have been killed and 626 injured by bombs, classified separately from IEDs.
An analysis by The Associated Press released Monday of U.S. forces killed in Iraq showed IED casualties from the bombs are still increasing, despite better armor and tactics.
Since mid-2005, an average of 40 Americans a month have been killed by improvised explosives, twice the rate of the previous 12 months, the AP reported. In February, 38 of 55 American military personnel killed in Iraq were IED victims.
Bush said that in the last six months, coalition forces have found and disarmed more than 4,000 IEDs.
On Saturday, the president met with retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, head of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, to discuss the task force’s progress and tactics already in use in Iraq. He said the group is working to “put the best technology in the hands of our people on the front lines.”
The group is scheduled to receive about $3.3 billion in funding this year, up sharply from the $150 million allotted for anti-IED work in 2004.
Stars and Stripes reporter Jeff Schogol contributed to this report.
Excellent. If we find a very effective solution against the IED we will practically kill the terrorist insurgency in Iraq. In fact it will be a breakthrough in history of warfare because no terrorist insurgency will have any effect on our troops not just in Iraq but anywhere in the world where we may face such type of warfare.
Great news regarding Iraq.
On Saturday, the president met with retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, head of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, to discuss the task force’s progress and tactics already in use in Iraq. He said the group is working to “put the best technology in the hands of our people on the front lines.”
Great News!
I've seen it on all MSM as leading story (/major sarcasm)
Marine Bump!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
In the company I served in Vietnam it seemed we lost guys to booby traps every day. We even had a scout dog hit a trip wire one time.
We're not going to lose this war to IEDs or booby traps or land mines or car bombers.
The only way we are going to lose is if we, at home, lose our perspective.
This is great! BUMP!
If we continue at the rate we're going this month,
this will be the lowest casualty month in two years.
http://icasualties.org/oif/
JINX JINX JINX!
I am glad to hear that our troops are getting good at this. I feel like one of the most valuable things about the whole Iraq experience is that the American intervention there has bloodied an entire generation of troops, that we will have experienced officers and noncoms if the ChiComs or North Koreans get squirrelly.
BTTT! Great news!
And I don't mean "bloodied" in the 'omigodwarinvolvesblood!' liberal way, btw.
Thanks for the ping.
Nice.
Now let's bomb the dog snot out of the factories that are in Iran.
This is a never ending battle I'm afraid. There will always be someone playing the "one upsmanship" game trying to kill or maim our troops. We are "up" right now thankfully.
Thanks. Anything that will counter IEDs is a good investment.
Thanks for the ping!
Rumsfeld is a great leader and manager, but he's also a former corporate executive who likes to get the job done with a minimum amount of manpower and expense and it really looks like he hasn't put enough manpower into the IED problem. This is a key strategic issue in Iraq and we have to solve this problem right now. Solving the IED problem strengthens political support for the war in the US, reduces the leverage of the insurgents and makes them more willing to work with us to form a unified, non-sectarian government.
It looks like we've been putting a little too much emphasis on the "soft" military effort of rebuilding schools and infrastructure at the expense of inadequate manpower employed on the IED prolbem. We need more men getting into these insurgent areas and pulling up floorboards to find these explosives. We can't do all this investigative work with high-tech methods like UAVs and satellites. We need more boots on the ground who are searching and destroying the explosives and ammunition used to kill our troops with IEDs. A sharp reduction in all the bombings in Iraq will go a long way towards improving Bush's approval ratings and sustaining support for the war at home.
That would be a good place to start although I think as long they keep getting media coverage, the bombers will find a way. Cheap advertisement for whatever their cause of the day is.
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