LAT: Bush Says LA Times Article Revealed Data on Combating Bombs

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Says Times Article Revealed Data on Combating Bombs
From a Times Staff Writer
March 14, 2006


WASHINGTON — During his speech about Iraq on Monday, President Bush criticized a newspaper article that he said revealed sensitive information about the Pentagon's effort to combat improvised explosive devices, the makeshift roadside bombs responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths. White House officials later said that Bush was referring to a Feb. 12 report in the Los Angeles Times.

"Within five days of the publication, using details from that article, the enemy had posted instructions for defeating this new technology on the Internet," Bush said. "We cannot let the enemy know how we're working to defeat them."

The Times article was about an internal Pentagon debate over a device called the Joint IED Neutralizer, or JIN. The article said that even though the device had passed a battery of military utility tests, and a prototype had destroyed about 90% of the improvised explosives laid in its path during testing, the neutralizer units had still not been sent to combat units in Iraq.

The delay had angered some in the military, who noted that it had been 10 months since then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz recommended investing $30 million in research and immediately sending the neutralizer prototypes to Iraq for testing.

The article did not provide specific information about the technology, and The Times deliberately withheld some details about the neutralizers from its report....The Times spoke to several Defense Department officials before the article appeared. None expressed concern that publication could endanger U.S. troops....(Before) The Times published its article, the technology was featured in several news reports....Before Bush mentioned the report Monday, no U.S. officials had contacted The Times to raise those concerns....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ied14mar14,0,4963762.story?coll=la-home-nation

[Newsjock]

1. "From a Times Staff Writer"

VERY INTERESTING.

Now the LA Times has been intimidated into not even revealing its reporters' names, for fear of what BushCo may do.

This is scary.

[DeepModem Mom]

19. Interesting, indeed -- the Times would normally...

have a reporter's name attached to a story of this significance.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Was that the ionization nebulizer?

[karlrschneider]

28. They're having problems charging the Flux Capacitors...

:eyes:

[benburch]

3. I'm betting this is a HERF device.

Detonates the explosives by inducing electric fields in the detonator.

[bananas]

4. Maybe now Bush will mention DU in a speech

"because of a post on democraticunderground.com, our enemies knew it was a HERF device..."

[hang a left]

5. you funny

[MADem]

11. Well, there's always the TOY CAR or TRUCK

You see a pile of suspicious trash up ahead, and you flop down your radio controlled toy car and send it over to nudge the pile of trash...ka boom...you lose the car, save a leg.

[benburch]

20. Except IEDs are usually command detonated.

Somebody has string a wire (or has a radio remote from a toy car...) to a concealed spot where the IED section of road can be observed. He then detonates the device when he sees the American Humvee...

This is not like a proper mine where there is a pressure, acoustic, or magnetic detonator.

[MADem]

27. Of course, but if you see the thing, you can avoid it

A lot of them are cell phone detonated, or garage door opener activated as well. Some are even buried under just a light coating of sand along the side of the road. But a lot of them are just shoved behind the ubiquitous piles of trash alongside or in the jubs (sewage/drainage ditches). You send the toy car forward, use it to shove the trash aside, and then use yer field glasses to get a good look at what is up ahead. The idea isn't to explode the device, simply find it. If you know anyone who is stuck doing patrols routinely over that way, a good-quality, heavy RC vehicle, one that you can duct tape a flashlight or a mini-camera to, is a thoughtful gift.

This isn't a speculative post; we've been doing this for some time, given the fact that Unka Sam is disinclined to provide timely support to prevent these devices from blowing up our kids.

Here is an article describing the technique better than I can:

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001556.html



Yesterday, I was 'outside the wire,' patrolling with the 2nd Platoon. We came upon a possible IED in the middle of the road, and stopped all traffic to check it out," writes Sgt. Greg Papadatos, of the 69th Infantry Regiment, in a Military.com diary.

A young private in that platoon has one of those radio-controlled toy cars. When they find unidentifiable debris in the road, E.S. sends out his little RC car and rams it. If it's light enough to be moved or knocked over, it's too light to be a bomb, so we can approach it and get rid of it. If it's heavy, we call EOD . At night, they duct tape a flashlight to the car.

The military actually has robots that it uses for such things, but they are larger, slower, higher-tech, and frightfully expensive. Only EOD units have them, and you could wait for hours and hours before they show up with their robot. If 200 units read about this idea, and 50 units actually buy a toy RC car, and it saves just one single life, it would all be worth it.

I've suggested to E.S. that he put some fancy paint and a couple of LED lights on his toy car, demonstrate it to some Army brass at the Pentagon, and sell it to them for $80,000. He won't actually try that, but it's fun to imagine. In the meantime, I've also suggested to some of his chain of command that they put him in for a commendation or a medal for his ingenuity. If he ever finds a real bomb with that toy car, they probably will. (via the Huffington Post)

[rodeodance]

6. says they spoke to defense people and none objected.

.....The article did not provide specific information about the technology, and The Times deliberately withheld some details about the neutralizers from its report.

"We knew about some of the technical details of the program, but voluntarily omitted them because they were not germane to the story," Times Washington Bureau Chief Doyle McManus said.

The Times spoke to several Defense Department officials before the article appeared. None expressed concern that publication could endanger U.S. troops.

[rodeodance]

7. also, LAT says this was old info--published previously.

...Even before The Times published its article, the technology was featured in several news reports. Last year, NBC News broadcast a segment about the neutralizers, showing video footage of the device detonating improvised explosives in its path.

[rodeodance]

8. Bush is just after more clamping down of the press!

[rodeodance]

9. says no one in gov came after them to complain!--Bush just tossed it

out



"We do not knowingly publish information that puts troops in danger," McManus said. "The government often asks us not to publish sensitive facts. They made no such request in this case."

Before Bush mentioned the report Monday, no U.S. officials had contacted The Times to raise those concerns.

"No one in the U.S. government came to us after the story was published to complain about it," McManus said. "Even now, no official complaint has been made directly to us."

[Richard Steele]

10. Yeah, pretty transparent BS. nm

[anitar1]

14. Wish I had this image on a bumper sticker, good one. n/t

[Richard Steele]

16. Do you mean my SD quarter?

I can PM you a larger image, if you want to print one yourself.

[antonialee839]

12. Funny how it doesn't bother * to have a leaker of sensitive

information as his right hand man. Freaking hypocrite.

[Starfury]

13. Here's my take on Bush's accusation:

Just another day at the (Oval) Office, just another attack on the press.

[rodeodance]

17. first he hits the NYT, now LAT--this will have a chilling effect on the

press. They get balls once in a while, then then smacked by Bushco.

[NYC]

15. Bush is angry they publicized the DELAY.

...The delay had angered some in the military, who noted that it had been 10 months...

It is the delay that he doesn't want to explain.

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. He Got Caught Reading a Newspaper?

The LA Times should write a story on that instead.

[arcane1]

21. I hate it when he says "the enemy"

aside from sounding juvenile, it's just too vague and meaningless

[daleo]

22. He accuses the press of leaking when they didn't

Then, just whistles a happy tune about the Plame outing.

"People have to watch what they say."

[Solly Mack]

23. Where are on the internet is the info posted?

"Within five days of the publication, using details from that article, the enemy had posted instructions for defeating this new technology on the Internet," Bush said.

[arcane1]

24. they have broadband internet all over Iraq, but no electricity or water

please, Bush... just because you're stupid enough to believe what you say, doesn't mean we ALL do

[Solly Mack]

25. I expect him to tell us that it somehow got erased

after he saw it - or someone told him they saw it.

but as it's all a lie - from start to finish - with an agenda of stifling the press by accusing them of national security leaks....it's all about control of the people

[onenote]

26. so why hasn't chimpy attacked Haley Barbour?

From July 2005: STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Ionatron, Inc., (Nasdaq: IOTN), a next generation controlled directed energy weapon technology company, today unveiled the first field deployable Joint IED Neutralizer (JIN) at Mississippi's Stennis Space Center.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour hailed the next step in the JIN's development - a step that gets it closer to deployment to Iraq.


http://goliath.ecnext.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-4445617&words=Ionatron_Introduces_First