WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has reported a record number of
improvised explosive device strikes in Iraq.
U.S. officials said roadside bombs in Iraq rose four-fold over the last three
months compared to January 2004. They said the increase in IEDs came as far
fewer Iraqis were relaying tips of insurgency plans.
"We're making slow, grudging progress," Gen. Montgomery Meigs, director
of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, said. "We're not going to bat a
thousand."
Meigs's unit was launched in the U.S. Army in 2003 and has grown from 12
to 269 employees and a budget of $3.47 billion, Middle East Newsline reported. The unit has invested 41
percent of its budget in technology meant to jam roadside bombs, the leading
killer of American soldiers in Iraq. So far, nearly 1,000 U.S. soldiers have
died from IEDs.
In August, about 1,200 IEDs were detonated against Iraqi and U.S.
troops. They said less than half of the IED strikes were foiled.
Meigs acknowledged that Iraqis have reported far fewer tips of IEDs over
the last five months. In April 2006, Iraqis reported 5,900 tips, which
decreased to 3,700 in July.
"It will improve once it's not so darn lethal to go out on the street,"
Meigs said. "You have to have really good intel in real time. You have to
have operational analysis of what's going well and what's not going well.
And you have to train everybody like crazy."
Officials said Iran has provided technology that improved the IEDs. They
included the development of the shaped-charge IED, which could rip through
the steel underbelly of U.S. ground vehicles. Most IEDs have consisted of
artillery shells planted in the ground that fires up into a targeted ground
vehicle.
"There is a higher incidence of bottom-attack IEDs, especially in the
Sunni areas," Meigs said.
The U.S. Army in cooperation with the Defense Department has been
up-armoring ground vehicles, particularly the 35,000 Humvees in Iraq. One
project was to add new armored doors to the Humvees to protect against IEDs.
In a briefing on Sept. 8, Meigs stressed that Iraqi insurgents have
constantly revised tactics and enhanced technology. He said the insurgents
have changed triggers for IEDs every six to nine months to stay ahead
of U.S. military countermeasures.
"This is a very cagey enemy who has the advantage of going to the
marketplace for his [research and development]," Meigs said. "This is just
his artillery system. That's the way we have to think about it. There's no
mystery here. The curiosity is in how it is delivered."
"We are making progress in defeating this system," Meigs said. "But
we've got to have operational and strategic patience. You are not going to
solve this overnight."
