2011: Salute the troops
January 8, 2012Apart from hijacked aircraft, the terrorist weapon that has caused the highest body count against Americans since 9/11 has been the improvised explosive device (IED) used against military and contractor personnel serving overseas.
Roadside bombs probably caused two-thirds of combat deaths in Iraq during the eight-year conflict.
But IED attacks were down in 2011 compared to 2010, and 2010 was better than 2009.
The Iraq surge and IED-jamming technologies began a reversal of IED casualties several years ago. During the final year of direct U.S. military involvement in Iraq, the IED numbers fell even lower thanks in part to aggressive infantry operations often led by U.S. and Iraqi forces working together. The relevance of this story to terrorist financing is that U.S.-Iraqi cooperation and military intelligence contributed to the unraveling of the cell-structured financial network behind the insurgent plots.
Often operating in a cells with a bomb maker, an emplacer, a leader, and the money man behind the attack, U.S. and Iraqi forces were able to identify and detain many cell members throughout the year. The detention of money men behind Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups slowed and impeded the ability of the cells to buy bomb parts and emplace more IEDs.
As usual, U.S. civilian bureaucrats have tried to snatch credit for the military’s success in Iraq; for example, the Department of Justice made a last minute indictment against Malaysian and Iranian businessmen who conspired to ship IED components into Iraq. That’s an important legal case, but it should by no means distract from the main effort and sacrifice which was borne by U.S. troops.
Unfortunately, the insurgents will continue using IEDs against the legitimate government of Iraq in an effort to destabilize and discredit it. But U.S. forces made remarkable progress against the weapon before departing in 2011, and we should acknowledge that success.
