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View Full Version : Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq Grow in Lethality, Complexity



SWJED
06-03-2007, 09:38 AM
3 June Washington Post - Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq Grow in Lethality, Complexity (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/02/AR2007060201294.html?hpid=topnews) by Ann Scott Tyson and John Ward Anderson.


As U.S. troops push more deeply into Baghdad and its volatile outskirts, Iraqi insurgents are using increasingly sophisticated and lethal means of attack, including bigger roadside bombs that are resulting in greater numbers of American fatalities relative to the number of wounded.

Insurgents are deploying huge, deeply buried munitions set up to protect their territory and mounting complex ambushes that demonstrate their ability to respond rapidly to U.S. tactics. A new counterinsurgency strategy has resulted in decreased civilian deaths in Baghdad but has placed thousands of additional American troops at greater risk in small outposts in the capital and other parts of the country...

walrus
06-04-2007, 12:22 AM
set up to protect their territory


Errr, with respect no. Set up to attack us when we try to protect OUR territory. Insurgents, by definition, have no territory.


Elsewhere on the web, in respect of this article, someone has quoted Clauswitz: "The battlefield is a teaching environment".

No other comment is needed in my opinion, I mean, what did we expect?

Lastdingo
06-04-2007, 01:37 AM
Errr, with respect no. Set up to attack us when we try to protect OUR territory. Insurgents, by definition, have no territory.


Elsewhere on the web, in respect of this article, someone has quoted Clauswitz: "The battlefield is a teaching environment".

No other comment is needed in my opinion, I mean, what did we expect?

This is incorrect.
Insurgents have territory as long as they can hold it.
It's an ancient fact and even part of Mao's insurgency doctrine.

By the way, it's ridiculous to call some Iraqi territory "our" unless that was said by an Arab.

Abu Buckwheat
06-04-2007, 02:14 AM
3 June Washington Post - Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq Grow in Lethality, Complexity (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/02/AR2007060201294.html?hpid=topnews) by Ann Scott Tyson and John Ward Anderson.


The media mastering the obvious :D ... this headline has been used dozens of times. The tactics and weapons have been pretty standard since 2005, except for the multiple daisy-chained EFPs ... thats a relatively new one.

RTK
06-04-2007, 02:18 AM
This is incorrect.
Insurgents have territory as long as they can hold it.
It's an ancient fact and even part of Mao's insurgency doctrine.

By the way, it's ridiculous to call some Iraqi territory "our" unless that was said by an Arab.

Scemantics, yes. But there is truth to this.

My AO is not "my" territory. I'm leasing it from the indigenous population for a time.

Insurgents do have AOs and territory. They may not have freedom of maneuver, but they do have territory.

sgmgrumpy
06-04-2007, 02:57 PM
Abu,

What is your take on this recent article? New development or nothing new. I seem to recall seeing another article a year ago on this.


Iraq-style bomb found in Afghanistan (http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Jun/20070603News022.asp)

Published Sunday, June 3, 2007


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A powerful and sophisticated type of roadside bomb prevalent in Iraq but not seen before in Afghanistan was discovered near a university in Kabul last week, prompting a rare countrywide warning to NATO and Afghan troops.

The bomb, known as an EFP, or explosively formed projectile, was notable for its level of sophistication and similarity to those seen in Iraq, said Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.

Abu Buckwheat
06-05-2007, 05:14 AM
Abu,

What is your take on this recent article? New development or nothing new. I seem to recall seeing another article a year ago on this.


Iraq-style bomb found in Afghanistan (http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Jun/20070603News022.asp)

Published Sunday, June 3, 2007


The weapon is not new but the usage in Kabul is ... I haven't heard about EFPs in any number in the Ghan before. Up til now (within OPSEC) I have been tracking manual and remote detonated IEDs, double and tripled up AT mines as IEDs and lots of battlefield rockets. The EFP is new especially if I see more than two in the next month ... that would mean that the elves at Darra' or the Khost weapons markets are moving into the machined explosvies industry ... though thats doubtful. I am sure they are coming from Iran and considering that there has suddenly been a spate of anti-Iranian attacks in SE Iran by an anti-government group supposedly said from Afghanistan. The Iranians would be sure to turn their backs on any future EFP shipments into Afghanistan. :mad: