Congress eyes US effort to defeat roadside bombs

[babylonsister]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0323/p03s02-usmi.html

Congress eyes US effort to defeat roadside bombs
A secretive agency is slated to get a 30 percent boost in funding, but some question its effectiveness.
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

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WASHINGTON - In the troubling days of 2005, as insurgent attacks mounted in Iraq, the Bush administration created a special task force to defeat the No 1 threat to US troops: homemade roadside bombs.

But while the Pentagon has raised the organization's profile by putting a retired Army four-star general in charge and thrown billions of dollars at it, it is not clear how much it has helped, since the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, continue to cause the majority of troop fatalities.

The group operates secretly to avoid tipping its hand to US enemies. But last year, Senate appropriators directed the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog of Congress, to investigate the agency. Now, they may get some answers.

This week, the GAO was scheduled to brief committee members on its classified report behind closed doors, says a GAO official. There is some concern in the House of Representatives, too. Rep. James Moran (D) of Virginia, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the organization has spent only about 25 percent of the money it's been given.

"They just haven't spent it," said Representative Moran. "I don't want to require to spend it on things that are not necessary. But on the other hand, we need to figure out how to stop these deaths of these kids riding in convoys."

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[youngdem]

1. I heard of an absolutely foolproof, simple way to prevent IED casulties

Get on a plane and get the fuck out of the country..

[NNN0LHI]

2. ...need to figure out how to stop these deaths of these kids riding in convoys...

Put them convoys in reverse and see how fast they stop getting blown up once.

Can't defeat this stuff any more than the Soviets could defeat the Stinger Missiles the USA was supplying to Osama bin Laden and his Afghan friends.

Idiots. All of them.

Don