OLD NEWS

"June 22, 2005 By DAVID S. CLOUD, New York Times

WASHINGTON, June 21 - American casualties from bomb attacks in Iraq have reached new heights in the last two months as insurgents have begun to deploy devices that leave armored vehicles increasingly vulnerable, according to military records.

Last month there were about 700 attacks against American forces using so-called improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.'s, the highest number since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to the American military command in Iraq and a senior Pentagon military official.

The surge in attacks, the officials say, has coincided with the appearance of significant advancements in bomb design, including the use of "shaped" charges that concentrate the blast and give it a better chance of penetrating armored vehicles, causing higher casualties.

Another change, a senior military officer said, has been the detonation of explosives by infrared lasers, an innovation aimed at bypassing electronic jammers used to block radio-wave detonators.


Most likely, this little bit of precious information was overlooked as just another article concerning the ever present droll of “The War Against Terrorism” in Iraq. Unfortunately, what is said here not only proves the presence of a growing insurgency in Iraq opposed to Coalition Forces, but more importantly displays the insurgency’s increasing ability to improve techniques needed to kill American soldiers.

I am no longer a soldier in the United States army, and I am no longer fighting this useless war in Iraq. However, not too long ago I was there, and ever day I could not help to notice just how potentially fatal operating in a combat zone really is, regardless of how much fancy equipment or impenetrable armor you are surrounded by. The bottom line is this: As we continue to fight dedicated guerrilla warriors, a growing number of Americans keep dying in vain."
Fight to Survive -hEKLe