IEDs seen as a rising threat within U.S.
Chertoff vows to step up planning for bombs that have ravaged Iraq
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI agree that the homemade explosive devices that have wreaked havoc in Iraq pose a rising threat to the United States. But lawmakers and first responders say the Bush administration has been slow to devise a strategy for countering the weapons and has not provided adequate money and training for a concerted national effort.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who told the Senate last month that such bombs are terrorists’ “weapon of choice,” said yesterday at a local meeting that President Bush will soon issue a blueprint for countering the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Chertoff’s department said in a draft report on IEDs earlier this year that national efforts “lack strategic guidance, are sometimes insufficiently coordinated . . . and lack essential resources.”
Among the shortcomings identified in the report: Explosives-sniffing dogs are trained differently by various federal agencies, making collaboration between squads “difficult if not impossible.” Federal agencies maintain separate databases on bomb incidents. Separately, bomb squad commanders have complained of inadequate training for responding to truck bombs.
Full Story Here:
IEDs seen as a rising threat within U.S.
Bush is an IDIOT and his HSA Secretary is too…
Here’s how you respond to most instances that have IED’s involved, medical and rescue personnel, that is the response to an IED because if the bomber is doing his job, you’ll never see it coming until after it goes off…
Bush and Company can talk about preparedness til hell freezes over, if IED’s are done right the only thing you can prepare for is the aftermath of the explosion, and all the bomb squads and bomb sniffing dogs in the world won’t help us if a cell of dedicated terrorists decide to go on a bombing campaign in this nation, unless they are so stupid that they would plant bombs and then get on the phone and call in a bomb threat, and that’s just not going to happen, bomb threats are made by amateurs and wannabes, with dedicated bombers, you’ll never see it coming…
This press release saying President Bush will soon issue a blueprint for countering the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs is a feel good crock of crap, Bush and Jerkoff both know it too, all they are doing is BSing the American people in hopes that the people don’t realize that our government is pretty much powerless to stop the actions of IED professionals…
You can’t check every parked car, you can’t spot out every suspicious package and there’s no way to check out every vehicle moving up and down our streets and highways, suicide, or more appropriately, homicide bombers, using parked vehicles are the most dangerous threat we face, 2nd most being homicide bombers wearing blast belts walking into crowded malls and the like, and with winter coming on, everyone is going to look a bit bulky in cold weather gear…
And if you think I’m writing all of this just so I can blast the Bush administration again, let me ask YOU a question, IF all this blueprint for action and preparedness for countering the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs is so damned good, WHY isn’t it already being used to successfully protect our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq?? And why hasn’t it been shared with our allies around the world, most recently in Pakistan??
Bush and HSA Sec. Jerkoff are blowing smoke up your bloomers folks, they are trying to do a PR job on ALL of us, but some of us have the guts to stand up and tell YOU the truth, these people that would use IED’s to kill and maim our citizens are already in place, and they are NOT going to be breaking into military armories to obtain their bombs, what these guys use are called IED’s, Improvised Explosive Devices and I will guarantee each and every one of you reading this, I can go into YOUR home right now and make a BOMB from the contents of your laundry room, garage and with what’s in your pantry and under your kitchen sink, and so can the terrorists, with products right off the shelves of ANY grocery store, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, hardware store, feed store or 7-11 in this nation…
THAT is the part the HSA, Jerkoff and Bush WON’T tell you, that’s the part that they don’t want you to know…
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October 20th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
One of the common practices of people who plant IED’s it to plant two of them near each other. The first one goes off and the E-squads show up and that’s when the second one goes off.
Iraq is about the size of TX and we can’t get a handle on IED’s there. Now if you take the entire US and start sprinkling around IED’s you’re gonna be in deep dog do-do.
BTW IED’s were used by anarchists and Commies in the US following WWI. One of which went off on Wall St.
Only by a ruthless round-up of anarchists and Commies was this problem addressed. And the round-up of these nitwits directly led to the formation of the ACLU, by a Commie. Eventually the ACLU conned its way into becoming ‘a friend of the court’ and we’ve been stuck with these anti-American assholes ever since.
If an extensive IED assault begins in the US we’re FUBAR to the max. Remember they only caught the UnaBomber after years went by and his brother finally turned him in. And we’ve never caught anyone for the anthrax business.
October 20th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Fred, you’re absolutely right here. IF there were a plan available to PREVENT, we WOULD already be using it overseas with the men and women in direct and immediate danger.
While I agree with the reasoning for the war in Iraq (and, frankly, wish we’d just bomb the snot out of Iran while we’re at it instead of mentally talking it to death), there are a lot of things about Bush I’m not thrilled about-the most recent being the immigration issue (and the unknown numbers of OTM’s crossing the border). I’m certainly not a fan of Cherthoff-he reminds me of an anorexic Boris Badinoff from the Bullwinkle cartoons. His physical appearance doesn’t inspire trust or confidence.
You’re also correct regarding winter and bulkier clothes. One thing, though-we’re also entering our holiday season and the malls and stores, parking lots, restaurants being packed when people are finished shopping and too tired to go home and cook-all are going to be extremely crowded with holiday shopping and providing, albeit unknowingly, huge almost irresistable targets for dedicated bombers. It would serve them to destroy the crowds and the holiday morale of the nation. And this season needs to be a good “shopping” season because of all the recent economic backslides.
Overall, yes, we have NOT had another attack on our shores since 9/11. I don’t know about the military and first responders’ “gut feelings” but it seems to me we’re on borrowed time at the moment-and the more success we have overseas, the more desperate and determined the cells currently in place HERE are going to become. Good news for us THERE could very easily equate to bad news for us HERE-and what better time than the holiday season? Think of all the holiday travelers, as well-and how many times the TSA has failed the “tests”-and how much travel has become a nightmare with the minor changes the TSA have forced upon us?
There’s little we can do to prevent a dedicated bomber. And this upcoming season may provide an almost irresistable, target rich environment. Bush and Chertoff need to be honest with America on this issue-period.
October 20th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
IED’s are a threat, regardless of how much training one has to “sniff them out.” One of the reasons IED’s work so well in Iraq is, according to some, that they are planted where the roads/curbs etc. are somewhat torn up already. Much of american highways are likewise torn up in repairs, re-surfacing etc. which makes those “ideal” places to set one. In places where here is no new construction or repair, it would be difficult to mask the job.
Further, there are places where IEDs are particularly dangerous, New York or Wash D.C. during rush hour, near where military convoys leave for the highways etc.
A danger, but not the likeliest of dangers in this country, as 9/11 has proved. Our transportation infrastructure (trains/airports/bus stations are at greater risk methinks and TSA is a joke.
October 20th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Yep You just about nailed it there Fred.
However; I truly have a blueprint for success against IED’s:
Round up every pedophile worshiping sand nigger in the USA and send their ass to Saudi Arabia… That’s about the only workable blueprint….
This also works with our illegal Wetback issue…. I should be Prez.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
We all know it’s coming. We know we cannot stop them . Personally, I wish I had been trained overseas in disaster response/triage than here in the “safe” midwest. There was a time when I felt prepared,confident. Not anymore…I see this crap on TV and realize how much I don’t know, and it saddens me.
I can handle blood/guts/gore, I don’t think I could handle the emotional impact of knowing it was happening to us, here at home. And that’s about as honest as I can get on a subject that is constantly on my mind.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
The best experts for IED’s are in Iraq right now and they aren’t having much luck spotting or finding them. Like you said, you’ll never know where they are.
One of the additional duties I had while in the military was as an Exercise Evaluation Teem member. We used to plan attacks on military installations and use these to train for actual contingencies. We always did our planning on striking hard targets but on one exercise we struck soft targets. Doing so put the place in utter chaos.
A while back a list of potential targets was released which included playgrounds, petting zoos, parks, etc. People laughed and ridiculed HSA for this. Folks, what will cause more TERROR amongst the people, blowing up a hard target like a power station or a soft target like a playground full of kids? The objective of a terrorist is to put fear (terror) into the hearts of their enemies.
The only way to adequately fight these terrorists is for every American citizen to be aware of their surroundings and be alert. And, our government needs to quit prostrating itself to CAIR and Mexico.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Fred, you have indeed hit upon several very salient and solid points. For whatever it’s worth, I’d like to point out something based upon personal experience here in Tallahassee. Several years ago, while I was still working at WCTV, we covered a series of bombings that qualify as IED’s. Now these IED’s weren’t the kind to cause major destruction. These IED’s were created by high school kids using plastic 2-liter cola bottles with a slow pressure buildup until they exploded inside the mailboxes in which they were left. There was enough force in these small “bombs” to damage the mailboxes extensively and fortunately no one was checking their mail or was near any of the mailboxes when these things went off. This went on for about a week-and-a-half until they stopped. No one was ever arrested for these incidents.
Now this showed several things:
1) Just about anyone can construct a device which qualifies as an IED including children.
2) It’s impossible to predict where and when something like this will occur.
3) It’s just about impossible to catch the perpetrators unless someone spots them “in the act” and can report them. However by that time, the IED will have been planted and perhaps detonated.
This was just one series of incidents that occurred in Tallahassee several years ago. I can’t imagine the countless times kids placed M-80’s, cherry bombs and other fireworks inside of mailboxes, trashcans, and other places during the 4th of July and New Year’s when such fireworks went on sale all over the country.
Frankly, Chertoff either doesn’t have a clue or else he does and doesn’t want to let those wishing to do harm to know.
Either way, the ease someone can prospectively construct, plant and set off an IED is frightening.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Citizen alertness/preparedness may be our best defense agains IED’s. Today I fear that the general public has become complacent toward the threat. This “blueprint” may temporarily heighten awareness among some but I think that it will do little for the general preparedness. Most likely, we will be lulled into a “feeling” of security and then be blind-sided by something spectacular.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Defending against IED’s is damn near impossible… if not entirely impossible. Plus, they are more effective against troops in the field than civilian populations.
Frankly I worry more about concentrated attacks against such places as mall, sports arenas, public schools, and religious centers… including churches and synagogues. But, I feel a terrorist strike against this country has to be tremendous before it can be effective in even a small way. I mean, they took out 3000 souls on 9/11 and we basically “shook it off” and with the help of our MSM and government, all but forgot about it. IED’s would just be a nuisance, in the US, and not much more.
If I may, I’d like to offer a remark or two concerning Homeland Security. It is a joke! Even the name of the department, or agency, is a pathetic throwback to the World War Two era. TSA… likewise.
The bottom line on security of the homeland is having the will to do what ever is necessary to secure the homeland… and our government has proven time and again they do not have the will, even to secure our borders. Nor does the civilian population.
Someone mentioned, above, that rounding up the perpetrators and incarcerating them, or worse, is the only way to defend against those who would plant IED’s. That is so very true. The US rounded up many, many, German spies, inside our country, and just flat shot them to death during WWII. It worked! It will work every time! But we will not even allow profiling at our airports… or our borders.
To make us even more vulnerable than we are today… consider that we are about to elect a democrat woman as President of the country. If that doesn’t keep you up tonight… nothing will!
Good night… and Good Luck!
Longstreet
October 20th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I look at this the same way I look at all the bullshit bills that congress tries to foster on to the public..bills that mean little but generate a lot of publicity and controversy/ Smokescreens..nothing but smokescreens to cover the fact that neither congress or the administration has the slightest idea what to do to set this country back on the right path.
As long as congress promises a free lunch congress figures it can get reelected. And as long as the administration can convince the public that ‘we all are gonna die’ unless the administration saves us the public will take its mind off the ineptitude of the administration.
It ain’t difficult to make a bomb that will blow up a Federal building..re: Oklahoma City. The only way to prevent it is to find the ones who are planning such atrocities and take them out before they take some of us out. But that presents a dilemma…do we have to give up our privacy and let the intelligence people investigate our every move in order to be safe? Fuck it. I think I would rather be free and that includes being free to pop a cap in the sumbitch who tries to blow me up if I get the chance to do so before he gets me.
But in any event there is a lot we can do as preventative measures..close down the border and round up every illegal and send them somewhere..I don’t give a shit where just get them out of the country. Stop this bullshit of giving student visas to damn near any raghead that wants one. For that matter stop the student visas to damn near all foreign students. It is a damn shame that American kids with the credentials can’t get into some of our prestigious colleges yet a raghead who cannot speak English can..What the Fuck? Over?
And the rest of the foreigners here on green cards..give them a year to learn the language or get the fuck out. Once they learn the language offer citizenship and if they refuse to swear a loyalty oath to this country throw their butts out. Then when they are caught consorting with the terrorists it is treason and they can be summarily shot..and no doubt there will be plenty of volunteers for the firing squad.
If this sounds like an isolationist plan think again. It is not..it is a plan for security of the country without invasion of the privacy of our citizens..repeat..CITIZENS..the rest have no rights as far as I am concerned..and if they can’t qualify to become citizens..well, tough titty said the kitty and there ain’t no more milk…
Gotdam Fred..what a rant..should have wrote it in my place…
October 20th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
You can’t check every parked car
Correct but you can check every Muslim.
You see an Arab looking fuck, check him or her out.
October 20th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
“Countering” IED’s on that large of a scale would be an exercise in futility. The only way to “counter” them is to get rid of the animals that would use them. Since our p.c. gub’ment is terrified of being labeled “insensitive,” we’ll probably never see our enemies rounded up and expelled.
Our enemies assemble in mosques across the country, wetting themselves as they chant, “Death to America.”
Our wide-open borders make this problem even more nightmarish.
Sealing the borders, expelling our enemies (they’re not hard to spot; they’re the ones with the ‘death to America’ protest signs), and providing the same IED recognition training to our civilian emergency personnel that our military currently receives would ease this threat tremendously.
Unfortunately, as others have pointed out, a dedicated enemy will succeed in employing IED’s if properly motivated. Since we do indeed have dedicated enemies right here in our own back yards (student visas anyone?), it’s probably only a matter of time.
October 20th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Coming into this late - I’ll just add to the chorus that it is impossible to prepare for or locate explosive devices before they go off. The NYPD, from which I’m retired, has one of the most experienced and well trained Bomb Squads in CONUS - yet we have had at least 3 BS officers seriously injured or killed in explosions of LOW grade munitions. Note these were mostly undisguised packages left by groups such as the BLA and the NLFA Puerto Rican Independence groups. Bags or valises left on streets or doorways.
There aren’t enough bomb sniffing dogs in the world to protect a city like NY, let alone DC or LA. can’t be done. The fact that Chertoff - who I knew from NY - is falling into line on this charade is no surprise to me.
Also noted was the tactic of using a followup device specifically designed to kill or maim emergency responders. There is simply NO way to counter such a tactic - which is an intimidation technique to impede emergency response. Unfortunately - such a tactic WOULD work to some extent. Cops are used to going into situations blind to a great extent. I’ve been in those situations, and I’m sure cops from other places have been also - it’s part of the job you sign on for. The point is … if a device does detonate and many people are killed or injured in the initial explosion … there will have to be a well thought out response other than our usual response of “damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead!” The big question - one thus far not mentioned - is how to render immediate aid while not placing first responders in an untenable position. We’re not afraid to die - but we don’t want to die stupid.
Personally, I think it’s an unanswerable question. Cops will do what cops do, and haul ass to the scene. They will die, and the short answer is I don’t think there’s a damned thing we can do about it or plan for. It’s a matter of time before some raghead or sympathizer detonates SOME kind of device within the CONUS. For the POTUS or the Skeleton to suggest they have a plan to counter the threat is more than absurd - it’s an insult to the intelligence of the American people and the law enforcement community.
My two cents …
October 20th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I think this is one of those things, that, no matter how you were to prepare, you will never be prepared. I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do other than make us live in a police state. I think the statistics are that here in the US we are more likely to be hit by either lightening or a meteor than terror. I sometimes wonder if perhaps too much is made of the potential for terror. I don’t like Chertoff and think he has too much power and way to little human feeling. It’s one of the few things GWB has done that I really don’t approve of. I don’t even approve of the Dept. of Homeland Security. I think it is a fiasco.
Back in 1985 there was one of those fascinating indy films called Brazil. Aside from being a bit weird and having a wonderful soundtrack, one of the themes of the film was the rise in terrorism. The premise was the fact that in the not so distant future terror would be so common people would soon become immune to it and simply ignore it. It is a ‘terrifying’ thought, but I have this feeling if this constant harping on how much we are in danger continues, it is going to be like the little boy who cried wolf.
If Chertoff would spend less money “rounding up” illegal migrant Hispanics and more money profiling legal students from Islamic countries I think we would all be better served. You can’t do both and it appears they are throwing money on this hyped up pretense that terrorists are going to be coming across the southern border.
SJ Reidhead
The Pink Flamingo
October 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
So I’ll be the contrarian*
Bush isn’t an idiot. If you consider that one of the administrations goals is apparently to increase the amount of scrutiny on private citizens.
So now he CAN check every parked car, and every citizen… All in the name of defense of the homeland. Saving the children and all that.
Papers please.
* albeit one with dripping sarcasm
October 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Seems Robert has the same idea I did in my ‘morning coffee’ this morning. Although, he says it SO much more colorfully!
October 20th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Your post does make one think. I cannot count the number of times since 9-11 I have pulled into the parking lot of my school and wondered how vulnerable it is be to terrorism or a hostile action such as occurred at Columbine.
I am always watching whenever I am out and around, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It is not that I am paranoid but I have always been aware of my surroundings. IEDs are impossible to detect in America and it is only a matter of time until a terrorist detonated one domestically. Many more will follow the initial occurrence. That is a fact.
If Bush and his advisors have a plan to deal with them, the troops in in Iraq would be using it. The only way I see to deal with domestic IEDs is to watch your surroundings, your back and to do the same for your loved ones.
We could round up and deport anyone whom we consider a threat. It is unfortunate that the liberal Democrats would not stand for that. They would have the ACLU all over everyone.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
IEDs don’t kill people, Ragheads kill people by detonating IEDs. It would be almost impossible to defend against this type of bomb. Spending money on more dogs and instituting bureaucratic rules, might be good for the the administrators of Home Land Stupidity, but it wouldn’t do much to defend against IEDs. Plus an IED remotely detonated would leave the perpetrators in a position of possible capture, and exposure of their leaders. I suppose, a cell of local ragheads could do such a thing. We have much more serious problems than IEDs. Our borders are porous, our congress is worried about a genocide that happened a hundred years ago. We have president that is a fool and Chertoff isn’t fit to be an airport screener. We shall have to wait for another massive explosion and loss of American lives on U.S. soil before anything of importance gets done. Oh, we will spend millions on defense of the homeland, none of it really worth a damn. In the end, it will take a massive round up of Muslims within the United States to put an end to their designs. If the government will not do it, I would imagine citizens of the United States. who put being an American before being a religious zelot will take matters into their own hands. This would include those American Muslims who are Americans first and Muslims second, Oh, I forgot, there aren’t any.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Texas Fred: I have posted a comment and a link to your post and its comments on my blog. Thanks for the food for thought. It did set me to thinking.
Texas Truth
http://moretexastruth.blogspot.com
October 20th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I don’t think there really is a way to counter the use of IED’s or VBED’s. Not anything in the traditional sense, in a way that Americans would easily accept or grow accustomed to.
One only has to look at Israel as an example. Consider life in a country with checkpoints, and searches everywhere you go. If you walk into a fast food restaurant you have armed guards, police, or military search you before you go inside, many places have bomb sniffing dogs, etc. - the same thing goes for any place where groups tend to form. That has become the only way to protect against suicide bombers and it does not always work. Anywhere in the Mid East that is relatively safe is the same way.
Americans [generally] don’t realize what we are up against in the long run. There really is no way to combat this type of problem other than
A) stop it before it happens
B) just live with it and hope you’re not blown up
C) Strip people of their freedoms and have a huge military and LE presence everywhere to check everyone as the go about their daily lives
I don’t like option B or C.
On a somewhat related topic, there is a huge terrorist incident training exercise going on nearby in Wichita, KS complete with explosions and collapsed building - it’s a 48 hour drill ending on Sunday (21 Oct).
I’m in the private LE business now and on the note of the holiday season coming up I can say that a lot of preparations are & have been happening in the private sector. There is more than a gut feeling going on.
October 20th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I’ve said this all along…if it took them months to track down the DC snipers, how long would it take them to track down two man teams that are bombing all the major cities???
S/F
Taco
October 20th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Back in the mid 90’s when I received my security briefing we were told that the largest known cell of Hamas, outside of the Middle East, was located in Kansas City. They’re here in America and have been here for quite a while.
This article at freepublic.com was at one time linked to the Kansas City Star but has been deleted. Fortunately Free Public has it posted.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/621140/posts
October 20th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I’m sorry, but there are some things here that have to be challenged.
SJR says Chertoff should “spend less money “rounding up” illegal migrant Hispanics and more money profiling legal students from Islamic countries.”
That is absurd. It is known and documented that in addition to Mexicans, there are numbers of Arabic men coming over the border as well. That is no secret. Certain;y not in the numbers that Mexicans are - buit the fact remains that these people are coming in and we have no idea where, or who, the hell they are.
I would agree that there has to be more attention paid to those coming here on educational visa’s - but not at the expense of ignoring illegal immigration.
Now Stew comes up with this gem…
“Bush isn’t an idiot. If you consider that one of the administrations goals is apparently to increase the amount of scrutiny on private citizens.
So now he CAN check every parked car, and every citizen… All in the name of defense of the homeland. Saving the children and all that.
Papers please.”
Please. No - Bush isn’t an idiot. Nobody graduates from Yale and makes it through Air Force flight school if they don’t have a brain. But neither is he a Nazi, looking into the private lives of American citizens. That kind of paranoia does not benefit anyone. As far as I know, the Constitution has not (yet) been superceded by Martial Law. I say “yet”, because be don’t have a Democrat POTUS yet. All bets are off if Hillary fools enough people to get elected. Even the Homeland Security Department does not have the authority - real or imagined - to routinely scrutinize ordinary Americans. That is beyond absurd, and unhelpful to the conservative cause.
There are things that can be done to secure the borders AND keep watch on so-called “students” in the US. It doesn’t require the HS Department to do it - it takes administrators with law enforcement and/or intel experience who are free to use that experience without interference by beaurocrats who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. You do it like the military does - or is supposed to do - you put experienced men in charge and leave them the hell alone to do the job they were put in place to do.
I have no idea what happened to the President I voted for twice to make him do some of the things - and NOT do others - he has done. All I know is this … consider what a clusterfuck we’d be in if John Kerry or Al Gore was in the WH.
October 20th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Man you lay a lot of stuff out on one topic. where do I begin?
Some of you may remember the Anarchist Cookbook. The editions prior to 1970 had quite a few suggestions in this area. Booby traps and explosives.
You will find quite the laundry list of common household products as key ingredients in success at this endeavor. I found these recipes quite useful when I was involved in special effects for theatre and rock bands. I still have this book in storage. The versions after 1970 are missing many details, very soft core. I am sure there are many others still out there.
IEDs — The weapon of choice for terrorists. The problem is the more you use it the less effect it has. Look at Israel as an example. They live in constant state of terror and yet it has such a small effect when various events happen. The missile the suicide bomber, the surprise, all lose there luster after repetition.
As sad as it might be, we in the US will fall to the same fate of complacency as Israel. The question is at what cost?
As someone who knows a little about the medical side of things, they are not prepared to deal with the constant supply of maimed and dismembered people. Our health system is on the verge of collapse thanks to the vast quantity of illegal aliens. We need to take desperate measures in order to save most of our hospitals. We need strong action in order to keep our doctors actually doing doctoring. The suits and liability are killing our healthcare industry.
The basic fact is without profiling and truly recognizing your enemy we are sitting ducks.
October 20th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
From my husband, Mark:
Each of you is right on the money — he battled IEDs on a nightly basis in Iraq for 18 months. The best thing, in his opinion, is to remain informed and watch carefully.
We have been studying this for a long time (even pre-Iraq) and our security systems are being tested. At some point and time in the future, the fifth column will begin exactly what you are reading here.
We have had attacks on our electrical grids, highways, overpasses, tunnels, etc. Most of these isolated incidents are quickly explained away as anything BUT terrorism. If there are any claims for these “isolated incidents”, we have not been informed. It will soon get to a point they cannot explain it away.
Perhaps the reason we have not had a large number of IEDs in the US is because the resources of the terrorists (and Iran) are being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is inevitable that these resources will find their way here - if they are not already.
We must continue to network and educate ourselves.
And remember…. we are not just watching for Middle Eastern Arabs, as they have spent the past several years recruiting black, white, Asian, women, children…. British, American, Hispanic… young, old…. truckers, doctors, taxi drivers and pilots.
I could go on all night — the point is to remain up to date on tactics and be informed on how to respond - Texas Fred is correct - the terrorists wont call in bomb threats, but its the first responders who will be first on the scene and the second target. Jihads also like to video tape their targets - usually from a distance. Most of their cells are at least six member cells — no more normally than nine.
Just food for thought.
October 20th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
In law enforcement, I worked the Robbery Detail and then, whilst there, “volunteered” (I use those quotes loosely) for my department’s EOD Bureau. EOD = Explosive Ordnance Detail. Good work, great overtime, superior training and, luckily, none of us were named “Lucky” or “Monopod” or “Tri-Finger.” I was sent to some excellent core training at the US Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Thence to some additional training at Dupont. When I received my EOD pin I thought I knew it all; when in fact, then, I knew nothing.
My eyes were opened on February 8th of 1986 when one of my Gods, my primary hero, LAPD Detective Arleigh McCree was killed by a pipe bomb, along with Officer Ronald Ball. Not more than three weeks prior, I watched McCree provide a demonstation of detcord in Las Vegas, during the first conference of the National Tactical Officers Association.
One absolutely cannot prepare for IEDs. They are what they are when they are. They exist in the moment. The only “blueprint” that exists is when one goes simply back to the basics of EOD tenets. Absent finding UXBs or traps (there are some clues one can utilize), IEDs can be sprung so many ways remotely. The best future protection: Dragon Skin, offered by Pinnacle Armor, which can take numerous 5.56 and 7.62 AP round hits as well as a direct grenade on the chest.
Trust me: there was nothing even REMOTELY amusing about wearing 80+ pounds of EOD armor whilst approaching a device.
BZ
October 20th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
And, oh yes: your hands were exposed.
BZ
October 20th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Fred,
Me being in the trucking industry allows me to see, first hand, how we are so easy a target for a nut right here at home. We are NOT safe here.
Great Post Dude
October 21st, 2007 at 8:24 am
Where do I start..? Some here know of my background, and that may lend some credence to what I say. For others it will hinder that!
I am a former FEMA Mass Casualty Incident Planner/Trainer among other things. I traveled to Africa,Europe and Israel several times learning about these sorts of things. We developed contingency plans for just about every scenario possible. That the veritable book that was written gets tossed every time something happens is not the fault of the people that prepared for what we know will happen some day. It is the fault of those that have their collective heads stuck in the sand, from Columbine to Katrina, that has been the rule.
It is also true that here in the Denver area, we are a target rich environment, especially what with the DNC being held here next year. I will not comment on what is being explored as possible responses to the myriad possibilities.
I will comment though that I believe that there is simply not enough being done that would preempt a strike. So bomb dogs are trained differently by different agencies? So what, that is a strength in that it makes it more difficult for the bad guys to learn how to circumvent them. So behavioral studies are not complete? So what, you might just catch some creep that you did train for. So the people of America will burn out on being cautious and reporting suspicious behavior? So what, an awareness campaign just might be key to saving a lot of lives.
Folks, when it comes to our safety and freedom here in America, I simply refuse to lose.
October 21st, 2007 at 10:23 am
There are a number of problems that we face regarding here and in battle. Please see: IEDs Coming Soon to the United States!
And there is a broader issue when you consider the speed at which our vehicles must, of necessity, travel on the Iraqi roads, especially in battle “hot-zones.” Figure it out…50 mph equals more than 70 feet per second. It was reported in January 2006 that a Bradley Section of A Troop, 1st Battalion, 32nd Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division, was hit by a 155mm artillery shell rigged as an improvised explosive device. The IED was detonated as the second Bradley was passing…a weapon with a potential kill radius of about 75 meters (246 feet)…so at 50 mph, that’s about 4 seconds (if my math is right).
Please see Defeating the IED Threat Remains an Undefeated Challenge
I respect Mr. Perry’s background and comments. The question is that different training could mean that the dogs from different jurisdictions and agencies might not be able to operate in the same field. No?
October 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Fred, you nailed it again.
This statement that the ever incompetent Chertoff has made is nothing more than smoke-in-mirrors BS that can be translated to, “We don’t have a speck of a clue what to do.” You cannot possibly convince me that if these people had this “blueprint” to combat IED’s that we wouldn’t have already been using it and saving the lives of our men and women overseas.
And secondly the whole point of an IED is the fact that it is completely improvised and unexpected. Unless this blueprint plans on setting up a new organization of thousands to go out and check people for cell phones, electric razors, walkie talkies, etc., there is no way to stop an IED until you stop the person who is behind them. Yes this means kill the enemy.
This statement is probably the dumbest and most misinformed and misdirected statement to come out of the Bush administration since “Impotent Osama.” They are using the same reasoning that the anti-gun lobby in this country uses with guns. It’s the gun itself, not the person who pulled the trigger. Let’s move our attention to IED’s rather than the person who makes and plants them.
Maybe if Chertoff would start focusing at least half as much of his energy on kicking these folks out of our country, getting these borders closed, and taking the right path over the PC path; as he does with making excuses for why things aren’t being done we would might have to worry a little less about terrorists as a whole.
October 21st, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I have a question for everyone to ponder (and maybe use as another start-point for discussion): if terrorist cells (or is it “cels”?) do begin a bombing campaign in the U.S. using IED’s, sniping, etc. do you think, as one response, laws concerning arming oneself would either be temporarily rescinded, intentionally unenforced (albeit temporarily) or ignored allowing for an increase of citizens arming themselves openly and in public? Or would the opposite occur (e.g. - a clamping down or trampling on 2nd amendment rights to own and bear arms)?
Okay, so that’s two questions but a logical scenario to consider if terrorist attacks do occur en masse in the U.S.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Carl, I would think whoever is in charge will determine if we surrender our weapons or arm ourselves and fight back. If the current crop of Democrats are in control, they’ll do all they can to disarm the American public with the hope in doing so will appease the Terrorists.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Sunday Reading List 10/21/07…
Better late than not at all, here’s the Sunday Reading list. Armed camp(us)The Thunder Run The local paper has decided to weigh in upon the case of Shirley Katz, a teacher in Medford, OR, who wishes to carry her sidearm…
October 21st, 2007 at 9:14 pm
IEDs Coming Soon to the United States!…
Why this should surprise anyone is beyond me. Frankly, its been a fear of mine for as long as I’ve been writing this blog, and long before when it became apparent that IEDs were not only a weapon of choice for the Iraqi terrorists. So today C…
October 21st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
One of my favorite movies was on today, Red Dawn. Red Dawn was produced in 1984. Something interesting was said during the movie by the downed and rescued AF Lt. Col pilot. He said when the invasion started, illegal aliens had come up through Mexico, infiltrated military installations and reeked havoc.
Something to think about. Last year at Whiteman AFB, home of the B-2 Bomber, illegal aliens were arrested working on base for contractors doing construction projects. Every person entering the base without a military ID card must be signed in. They must present identification and receive a temporary pass. Somehow they got on one of the more secure military instillations we have.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Fred, I agree that there isn’t much we can do to prevent IED attacks. But I will say that over the past few years, we have engaged in numerous combined civillian-military training exercises designed to respond to this sort of attack. It’s one thing that’s impressed me about the DHS. I think the first responders ARE prepared, and have learned how to interact and work beside our military rescuers and medical corps.
I wouldn’t be too hard on Bush. Yes, this is probably a transparent attempt to make us all feel safer, but he can’t exactly shrug his shoulders and say “there’s nothing we can do so we’ll just train our medics to respond”. Not exactly a good PR move.
We ARE ready to respond to this. And I’m not a fan of the DHS, but they’ve worked hard on this particular issue.
God bless,
John Washburn
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Prevent? No way to prevent an unforeseeable circumstance - and that is the circumstance that the terrorist worth his (or her) salt will plan for. But, we can prevent more undocumented invaders from entering this country. Not that anyone in government has the testicular fortitude to step up and actually put a plan in operation, but we can do it. Arming ourselves will not only reduce the threat, it will start thinning out the idiots.
Prepare - yeah, we all need to start rolling bandages. Lots of them.
Targets - soft targets are more advantageous, since they don’t require rebuilding or repair before the invading force can put them to their own use. Why take out a water treatment plant when your people will need the water once they occupy?
Good post, Fred.