An Iraq mercenary reports checkpoint enforcement is down & shape charges are more dangerous

[populistdriven]

Through word of mouth: After 2 years he has quit and has come home for good - He had just returned to Iraq 2 weeks ago after a 1 month vaction. Says checkpoints are leaky as hell or not enforced and the IEDs are far, far more dangerous - they have perfected shape charges - none of the widely used convoy armor we use can withstand it. Says the success rate used to be pretty low - that IEDs were a threat but the odds were 1 in 10 or less of a successful attack. Now its much more dangerous because the number of attacks has gone up. That this all changed since roughly October 1st.

Has anyone else heard similar in the last couple weeks?

/edit just to clarify - His emphasis was on the checkpoints - the shape charges has been gradually becoming more and more dangerous in '06 and the recent change was enforcement and inspection of vehicles - that is allowing insurgents to move around more easily thus making it much more dangerous for convoys in the last several weeks.

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. There was an article, I think written by Chris Floyd

or the war nerd, that was about the evolution of the IED's. These guys who design them are very good at their work.

[populistdriven]

2. edited to add the emphasis of the change was checkpoints

and that ieds are just gradually getting more and more dangerous

the combination of the two is now too much for him after 2 years

[Kagemusha]

3. Sounds completely in line with what I've heard from all over.

It's not that there was no one in Iraq who knew how to make a shaped charge but, to make an insurgency work, these skills need to filter down to the front 'lines' (of sorts) so that the B-team and the C-team are dangerous too, so that you don't risk losing the really good people much... and turn your farm system people into real players. Somehow they've hit a critical mass. Also consider that for a long time the insurgents were willing to tolerate worse IED's because vehicle armor wasn't better across the board. So, "supply" met "demand".