Bomb-makers being targeted by coalition forces in an increasingly prolific IED war

[unhappycamper]

Bomb-makers being targeted by coalition forces in an increasingly prolific IED war
By Dianna Cahn, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, November 25, 2009

(Second of two parts. See Part One here.)

WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In hindsight, the crumbling wall was a clue.

Bomb specialist Thomas Rabjohn was busy disarming a homemade bomb in the Maydan Shahr Valley when Lt. John Gillette sat down on a low wall nearby and it crumbled under him, revealing a rocket, soldiers later recalled.

The men realized that the two devices were related in some way and that they were looking at something more complex than they’d come across before. Gillette jumped up and backed away.

Staff Sgt. Rabjohn looked over at the rocket but then went back to working on the main bomb. He thought he had it disarmed.

Then it exploded.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/m/article.asp?section=104&article=66286

[ixion]

1. "The Afghan insurgency, at one point dormant if not defeated, is now the strongest it has been"

it was, most obviously, dormant.

Two things generally amaze me when reading US reporting on our 'wars' (sic)

a) We seem consistently surprised that the "insurgents" are fighting a guerrilla war

b) We plant land mines, bomb from great heights and use depleted uranium, but wring our hands over their use of IED's.


It's almost like we can't get over the fact that people are defending themselves against an outside force. The mind boggles.