Bigger, Stronger Homemade Bombs Now to Blame for Half of U.S. Deaths

[ECH1969]

BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- After 31 months of fighting in Iraq, more than half of all American fatalities are now being caused by powerful roadside bombs that blast fiery, lethal shrapnel into the cabins of armored vehicles, confronting every patrol with an unseen, menacing adversary that is accelerating the U.S. death toll.

According to a former Iraqi army officer who lives in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi and is now a member of al Qaeda in Iraq, the group headed by Abu Musab Zarqawi, insurgents have advanced beyond the crude bombs they once used, such as dynamite or gunpowder mixed with nails and buried beside a road. Now, he said in an interview, militants have access to TNT from Iran that he said was about seven times stronger than the TNT available in Iraq. He said they were also using old Austrian missiles from the former Iraqi army and detonating them with electric wires, cell phones and other remote-control devices.

It took about 18 months from the start of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq to reach 1,000 U.S. deaths; it took less than 13 months to reach 1,000 more. A major reason for the surge, statistics show, is the insurgency's embrace of IEDs, together with the military's inability to detect them.

"It's the dreaded IED that's killing our soldiers," said Michael White, the creator of http://icasualties.org , a Web site that tracks U.S. military casualties. "I read in the paper that we have some new device to detect them, or we're taking extra care to make sure we don't get hit, and death after death keeps coming in, and it's IEDs."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501987.html

[saigon68]

1. We told them---WE WARNED THEM

Its a GORILLA (sic) WAR

And these ass clowns get richer as thousands die



[HuffleClaw]

2. this 'ied' stuff is a myth mostly imo

they nearly always use 'crude' to describe it, but its mostly meant as some sort of insult i think, as in, 'surely those savages wouldn't be capable of using our hi-tech toys...' when the truth is that an antitank mine hooked up to a washing machine timer is just as effective a killer as a laser guided bomb. the iraqi military didn't simply throw all their stuff away when they were invaded, they KNEW they'd be occupied and prepared for it.

[Ksec]

3. That one they caught on video yesterday

looked like a damn nuke!

That was huge. Gad Id hate to have family over there. I have great sympathy for anyone who does.

[MisterP]

5. that was the cement truck packed with explosive

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. How is it that they can pack a cement truck full of explosives

and nobody knows who did it? And nobody knew it was going to happen?

[Tesha]

12. You're assuming that there are folks on "our side".

NPR made the same mistake this morning, discussing Ramadi. After the
guest subject matter expert made it clear that the populace of Ramadi
was opposed to our being there, the twit host (Inskeep, I think) asked
something like "So the Insurgents control the people of Ramadi?", and
you could almost hear the guest sigh as they formed a reply that tried
to politely say, "No, you biased asshole, the population of Ramadi
is completely supportive of the Insurgency and in alignment with their
goals, and I just told you that not one sentence ago!"

It's not uncommon in a community that when something like the cement
mixer incident happens, "Nobody knows nuthin'" afterwards.

Tesha

[IChing]

4. "TNT from Iran" BULLSHIT what about the 350 metric tons of high plastic

explosives that went missing from just one Iraqi ammo site.
Al Qaqaa

One lbs. can blow up a plane, ......

Why and what happened to that story that went down the memory hole.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3950493.stm

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/oct2004/arms-o28.shtml

A joint investigation by the New York Times and CBS News found that the huge stockpile of high-powered explosives, of three types known by their abbreviations as HMX, RDX and PETN, has disappeared from one of Saddam Hussein’s largest conventional weapons depots, at Al Qaqaa, 30 miles south of Baghdad. The facility was captured by US forces during the invasion of Iraq, but not carefully inspected until May 27, 2003, when US agents found that all of the explosive materials had been removed.

They are ideal weapons for terrorists: less than one pound of HMX was used to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1987.

[ECH1969]

8. Plastic explosives doesn't work well for IEDs

It works well for suicide attacks and packed car bombs, but not roadside bombs.

[IChing]

9. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) / Booby Traps

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) / Booby Traps
IED Overview
An IED can be almost anything with any type of material and initiator. It is a “homemade” device that is designed to cause death or injury by using explosives alone or in combination with toxic chemicals, biological toxins, or radiological material. IEDs can be produced in varying sizes, functioning methods, containers, and delivery methods. IEDs can utilize commercial or military explosives, homemade explosives, or military ordnance and ordnance components.

They are unique in nature because the IED builder has had to improvise with the materials at hand. Designed to defeat a specific target or type of target, they generally become more difficult to detect and protect against as they become more sophisticated.

IEDs fall into three types of categories:

Package Type IED
Vehicle-Borne IEDs (VBIEDs)
Suicide Bomb IED

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/ied.htm

[sofa king]

10. al Qaqaa was where missile warheads were stored, too.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iraq/al_qa_qaa.htm

That's something to worry about, but it would appear as if the number of missile warheads that disappeared was under 200.

But seriously, how much bigger do you have to get than a six-inch shell? The 155mm was a favorite caliber of the Iraqis, and they had a near-infinite supply of shells which we also failed to secure. They appear to be a favorite IED of the insurgents.

When the Americans first used the 155mm self-propelled gun as a direct-fire weapon in 1944, one surrendering German commander denounced its use as "inhumane." 155s were also the main armament of many light cruisers. A single shell is capable of bringing down a small building.

[kikiek]

16. That is what I was thinking too. How is that being used against us. Why

isn't that brought up?

[gulfcoastliberal]

6. We must stay the course.

Obviously they love us occupying their country. Best recruiting tactic ever for terror groups. Wonder what the Saudi Royals are talking to his daddy about lately?

:spank:

[LynnTheDem]

11. al Zarqawi is NOT, and never has been "al Qaeda".

Zarqawi and OBL don't even like each other; they are rivals.

Now how come the WaPo doesn't know this fact?

And the only people Iran would be supplying weapons to would be the SHIA.

[Hissyspit]

13. WP: Bigger, Stronger Homemade Bombs Now To Blame for Half U.S. Deaths

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501987.html

Bigger, Stronger Homemade Bombs Now to Blame for Half of U.S. Deaths

By John Ward Anderson, Steve Fainaru and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 26, 2005; Page A01

BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- After 31 months of fighting in Iraq, more than half of all American fatalities are now being caused by powerful roadside bombs that blast fiery, lethal shrapnel into the cabins of armored vehicles, confronting every patrol with an unseen, menacing adversary that is accelerating the U.S. death toll.

U.S. military officials, analysts and militants themselves say insurgents have learned to adapt to U.S. defensive measures by using bigger, more sophisticated and better-concealed bombs known officially as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. They are sometimes made with multiple artillery shells and Iranian TNT, sometimes disguised as bricks, boosted with rocket propellant, and detonated by a cell phone or a garage door opener.

The bombs range from massive explosives capable of destroying five-ton vehicles to precision "shaped charges" that bore softball-size holes through thick armor, the main defense of troops in the field, and they are becoming a key factor in the fast-rising U.S. death toll.

- snip -

"It's the dreaded IED that's killing our soldiers," said Michael White, the creator of http://icasualties.org/ , a Web site that tracks U.S. military casualties. "I read in the paper that we have some new device to detect them, or we're taking extra care to make sure we don't get hit, and death after death keeps coming in, and it's IEDs."

MORE AT LINK

[goforit]

14. What have we created?

[SCDem]

15. While the US is still pouring millions into an outdated and ill working

missle defense system.

Missles are so 20th century but I guess so are big OIL companies and megacorporations that still invest in such 20th century crap.

[Barkley]

17. I wonder if this is in response to the supplying more reinforced amored

vehicles?