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The Belmont Club has an excellent post and the challenges the terrorists in Iraq face.
Analysts who talk about the 'unstoppable IED' should consider the problems posed to the enemy by the American precision strike, which is in its way the rival "weapon from hell". If a modified cell phone represents a detonator to a triggerman lying in wait for an American target, a regular cell phone in the hands of an Iraqi working for American intelligence is a means to rain down certain destruction on any safehouse, hideout or enemy installation. The defense against IEDs, while difficult, is a known quantity: route surveillance, snipers scanning the roads, the "96 hour" patrols of Lt. Col. Joseph L'Etoile, electronic countermeasures, vehicle armor, etc. But difficult as these are, the defense against precision strikes is far harder because it requires preventing any unvetted person from viewing your movements. Abu Nasir, the late Emir of the Qaim region, may have had twenty or more bodyguards or companions with him; but they simply perished with him because his security measures failed to prevent some person, perhaps a man in the employ of America, perhaps someone with a grudge against him, perhaps even a rival in his own organization from making a cell phone call which brought down a guided weapon on his head.
I think his point is well taken. Yes IED’s are nasty weapons, but we do have some defenses against them. But what defense do the terrorists have against a 500 pound precision guided bomb? None. All it takes is for one Iraqi to drop a dime on them and they’re toast.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the U.S. had enough bomb carrying aircraft in the air 24/7 so that ground troops could get a 500 Lb bomb within 10 minutes of asking for one.
Posted by The Vorlon at September 28, 2005 8:48 PM