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Today from the Editor's desk

Tuesday, October 02, 2007                    

William A. Gast Editor--Wesupportthevets.com

I

Casualties in Iraq continue to rise as a result of several factors.

If you look at our front page and link to the report page “Casualties in Iraq Report” you will get a monthly and daily list of service members KIA from globalsecurity.org. Reading further in this report under the “details” column you read the grim reports of how these heroes made their sacrifice.

This “details” column brings a puzzling question to my mind. If you count the number of IED occurrences and VBIED hits, it would appear that the area is not and at this rate never will be secure. An IED must be planted near its targeted location. It must be disguised by whatever means possible, a burned out car beside the road, a farmers horse drawn cart with a broken wheel, and something that looks like it belongs beside the road.

Lets assume that Mohammad the bomber builds the IED in his garage on the other side of town and sets it up on the opposite side of town. He has to transport the explosive across town to do this-right? With all of the security stops and surveillance by our troops and the new Iraqi police, what are the chances of Mohammad’s device being detected on the way to the explosion site? Electronic explosive sniffers must be in short supply in Iraq. Maybe we should send some from our airport security checkpoints?

You have to think about why these gomers are successful in establishing a target. In most of the car bombs the device is remote controlled. Usually wired to a cell phone, the device is triggered when the convoy is within range by simply calling the number. Clue 1. (suggestion) Why not use a random call activation from the different phone companies in Baghdad or wherever we have control of the utilities. This would be done with the latest assigned new numbers ringing first. Set up a program where all cell phones ring at once or on a rotation basis and see how many apartment houses, garages, motor vehicle repair shops and steam baths experience a sudden unexplained explosion. Probably some roadside vehicles would also explode in this process. Military authorities have posted signs on most of the major highways that our military convoys use describing what will happen to any vehicle left standing alongside the road for more than an hour.
The other problem to fix is the locals still do not trust the police or military occupation collation.  They continue to fear retaliation. This holds back the most important key to insurgent intelligence - informants. Let’s say that this was Denver or Los Angeles. If Mohammad was seen walking from his garage to his car with an RPG over his shoulder, within ten heartbeats, the local police would have a 911 phone jam. That does not happen obviously in Baghdad or Mosul. Until the locals start working with the police to inform where these insurgents work from, there will be no decrease in bombings and increase in arrests. It would be interesting to see what effect on intelligence gathering the following program would have. 1. Any insurgents found in a dwelling containing explosives would be arrested and the dwelling demolished—regardless of ownership! 2. If there was an informant that came forward to identify the location prior to the arrest, their dwelling would not only be spared demolition, they would receive one years funding for education or food and clothing. 3. If there were no informants, the adjoining three apartments would be vacated and demolished.

Sound harsh? What happens here if the DEA finds you making speed or roasting crack in your apartment? On your boat? As a matter of fact, even if the place you are doing this is not owned by you-the DEA will confiscate it for sale. What is the difference?

With the announcement that Secretary Rumsfeld is asking and getting an increase in troops for Iraq prior to the elections in October, comes his responsibility for safety of those troops.
It must be a real topic of frustration between the Pentagon hi-techies and Congressmen who want answers why a brain fried suicide bomber can be a more effective killer than a ten million dollar Bradley tank? Osama Ben didn’t have a congress to go to for another eighty five billion for equipment but he has effectively stymied the mightiest army in the world with what he could salvage from old Russian ammo dumps in Afghanistan and Sadam’s desert warehouses for explosives.

Instead of an increase in troops on the ground Mr. Rumsfeld, we need some answers to these problems that are unresolved for over two years now. Its not the money you are spending Sir, it’s the lives you are placing in harms way like an endless string of lemmings.

Fix the problem.

Bill Gast  USN (RET) DAV

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