Defeating IEDs in Afghanistan
BY Herschel Smith
15 years ago
This informative 60 Minutes video documentary on IEDs in Afghanistan is worthwhile viewing.
But except for the increased sophistication of IEDs in Iraq as opposed to Afghanistan (or said another way, the more basic and simple IEDs in Afghanistan), this documentary could have been made in Iraq in 2005 – 2006 if urban terrain was substituted for rural.
Defeating IEDs will require force projection, chasing and killing the insurgents, and dismantling his networks. No amount of technology will win the asymmetric fight against IEDs. The fight against IEDs cannot be separated from the fight against the Taliban, as if enough technology will neutralize Taliban weapons while the Taliban are still active.
On November 16, 2009 at 9:12 am, TSAlfabet said:
The very end of the segment is sobering when the two soldiers state that they are not sure this is a fight that can be won and that “victory” to them is getting home safely. Not criticizing this in any way, but comparing this to some of the interviews done with U.S. forces in Iraq. Many of the soldiers and Marines then seemed to have at least some notion of what victory would look like. Could this be the absence of leadership in 2009?