Reply #218: Unfortunately, that's not how they work [View All]

[GreenZoneLT]

IEDs are mainly set up to fire from the side. They're not usually in the road itself, but buried in a wall, curb, rubble, pile of trash, dead dog, dead person, etc. at the side of the road. Usually set off by a guy with a cell phone, a wire and plunger, or a pressure-plate in the road.

The really deadly ones are the explosively formed projectiles, which use plastic explosives and a dish-shaped piece of metal to shoot what turns into an armor-piercing round after it blows up. Those can take out tanks. We've been playing move, countermove with the IED-makers for years now; one reason the Humvees cost so much is the various bits of anti-IED gear on them, which we don't discuss in detail for obvious reasons.

I'm a REMF in the Green Zone, so my experience of patrolling consists of one media trip into the Shaab neighborhood (next to Sadr City, rode in a Stryker), and second-hand stories. I did get lulled to sleep last night by the sound of 105 rounds from a gunship pounding the crap out of South Baghdad; there's not really a REAR rear here.

I agree with Sanskrit; it doesn't always suck here. I go back and forth day to day as to whether we're accomplishing anything. Petraeus seems to get it, and there are occasional reasons for optimism like the big fight that's on now between some of the western tribes and the Sunni hardliners (the hardliners appear to be losing). I really wish the damn State department was over here in more force, though; we've got all these non-Arabic-speaking trained killers here trying to be diplomats, because that's what's required. And way too infantry colonels who DON'T get it, and just want to go kinetic on everything.