General: Info sharing key to fighting IEDs

[unhappycamper]

An IED goes off in November 2003 west of Baghdad. The commander formerly charged with defeating improvised explosive devices say lack of information sharing is hurting efforts to battle a surge in IEDs in Afghanistan.


General: Info sharing key to fighting IEDs
By Jim Michaels - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jan 7, 2010 7:00:44 EST

A reluctance by the U.S. military to share its latest technology and intelligence with allies in Afghanistan is hampering efforts to defeat deadly roadside bombs there, said the outgoing commander charged with defeating improvised explosive devices.

“We’re very timid and slow at changing our disclosure and information sharing,” said Thomas Metz, who retired last week as an Army lieutenant general after leading the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. “The commanders in the field are coming back to Washington with a very clear message that we’ve got to figure out this information sharing” because it will help disrupt cells that make IEDs, he said.

The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on efforts to defend against IEDs and attack the networks that build and finance them. The bombs kill more coalition forces than any other weapon used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The reluctance to share information is based on sensitivities about revealing sources or giving enemies insight into secret technologies, Metz said. Information on roadside bombs is often gleaned from secret drones and sensors. Some U.S. aircraft have equipment and cameras sensitive enough to detect ground that has been dug up for IEDs, for example.

“The bureaucrat back in Washington is concerned that somebody’s going to find out how they got the information,” Metz said. The solution is simple, he said: “You can separate how the information was obtained from what the information is.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/gns_afghanistan_ied_info_sharing_010710/