Afghan Insurgents Learn To Destroy Key U.S. Armored Vehicles

McClatchy:

WASHINGTON - Taliban-led insurgents in Afghanistan have devised ways to cripple and even destroy the expensive armored vehicles that offer U.S. forces the best protection against roadside bombs by using increasingly large explosive charges and rocket-propelled grenades, according to U.S. soldiers and defense officials.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[TJCole]

I like the skull an crossbones guaranteed, to win hearts and minds..

Could we please leave now..?

[GravitonX]

The problem with engaging an enemy for an extended amount out time is that they eventually learn your ways of operating. The ground-based systems are even more susceptible than the Hinds that the Mudjaheed learned how to bring down, which evenetually lead to the crippling of the Russian army in the 80s.

I became so easy, even a 16th century cave-dweller could do it.

[Littlewords]

The core reason is not the IED, but the chronic lack of control, infrastructure, and trust.

Without control our troops must continually patrol dangerous areas after eight years remaining unsecured.

Without infrastructure, the local insurgent members have nothing to busy them or teach them to think otherwise.

Without trust, our troops lack local intelligence and support to aid them and keep them out of harm's way.

[martin2]

The way to win this war is to draft every politician that voted for it, + the pro war writers
+ CEO of companies making big profits send them to Afghanistan as a surge team.
They will wrap it up pronto.

[Friend-O]

And they can't use age as an excuse, think of "The Wild Geese".

[valkyrie7514]

Yeah but they'll use the excuse of their hero - Ruash "Mad dog" Limbaugh - "boils on their butts"

[phute]

martin2 - with king chickenhawk cheney at the front.
I abhor torture - but if he's taken.....­.well.

[Amock]

The USA should hire me "Lord Amock" to led the fight against the resistance. My enemy might have Islam on their side BUT I have the Dark Side of the Force on mine!

[Amock]

Maybe if we hired some local CHEWBACCA's who know the area and can relate to the people we might win this thing.

[henrymiller212]

exit stage left. snaglepuss

[Amock]

How does one become a "Lord" anyway?

[Amock]

OK! I got a plan first we build a DROID army THEN we build a "Death Star" and then will can conquer the resistence.

[Tom Joad]

let's see - armored vehicles in Afghanistan: MRAP = deeeathtrap. I'm quite certain the former Soviet Union's army discovered this fact around 1985. But at least the MIC is getting 10's of billions of dollars to produce many thousands of these useless vehicles. Talk about conspicuous consumptio­n...

[rudolph]

We have the wrong army for this war. Time to leave.

[Artos]

In War , the machines of war never lack for a counter weapon. It always amounts to oneupmanship. You build this to counter us and we build something better to counter your machine. It never fails to happen. In WWII during Normandy the Germans relied heavily on defenses built behind hedgerows. These were numerous and hard for the allied troops to get through until a mere sergeant mechanic devised a device called a hedgehog that could cut right through the hedgerows, and so the tanks were fitted with them which made getting at German defenses a lot easier. This is how it's always done.

[AmandaBC]

The Molotov cocktails that Soviet partisans used against the engines of the mighty German tanks with tremendous effectiveness is an even more dramatic example of that. Sometimes high-tech is defeated by extremely low-tech..­. $1 worth of gasoline can turn a heavy tank into a giant roadblock.­..

[PitBull6]

Excellent point. There are no silver bullets. Weapons and countermeasures are always in a state of flux, always evolving. As the Pentagon spokesman asked, what took them so long?

We will adjust and then the enemy will again.

[Tom Joad]

...but what is the point? there is no winner. stop playing 'the game'.

[BannedNBoston]

Bill Moyers demonstrated well on his program.
That 5 different groups are arrayed against the US.
They are all getting more funding we must wind this down we cant win.

[Friend-O]

Bill Moyer's always digs and gives more info than the shallow sound bite stuff that makes up a lot of today's news. Would that his way would be the rule, not the exception

[valkyrie7514]

yeah - but that involves the American people thinking - something they have shown ZERO inclination to do.......t­hey're happier with the soundites "we're turning the corner" / "mission accomplished" / "battle is over" / "we fight them there so we don't fight them here"

[Nunnya]

Isn't their a quote about learning from history or something?

[Perry Clease]

There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

[AmandaBC]

"Isn't their a quote about learning from history or something?"

Here it is:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

-- George Santayana

("Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense", Scribner's 1905)

[Hirnlego]

Here's another one:
“What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it” Hegel

[Ergon]

Ha! The Iraqi IED'S and RPG'S made mincemeat of M1 Abrams tanks and US soldiers AFTER Mission Accomplished was announced. In 8 years of war we have learned what?

[eagledavey]

You seem happy with this news...car­e to explain why? Are you glad Americans are dying over there?

[Ergon]

I 'm against this war, and am trying to tell the truth about it, that it's unwinnable. Hundreds of posts to the effect that I want them all home.

[valkyrie7514]

If that's what it takes to force them to get the hell out of countries they wanted then so be it

[valkyrie7514]

If that's what it takes for the US to exit from countries that the people of those countries have told them to leave - then so be it

[Amock]

What is your angle here my brother?

[Ergon]

I'm just a little pissed off at the way this war is being portrayed as something that's happening elsewhere. Real people are being hurt, on all sides.

[Ergon]

There is no reason for them to be there. It was to make people understand war's horrors.
As my kids say, war is stupid.

[PitBull6]

We have learned plenty, stuff that is being institutionalized into the military again and being remembered and codified. Not to mention that American 5.56 and 7.62 made a helluva lot more mincemeat out of AQI...did they learn anything?

[jsarets]

So obviously what we need are robotic minesweepers that lead convoys or travel in decoy convoys.

Such vehicles would remote-controlled, perhaps with semi-autonomous convoy formation modes. They could be disguised to look like personnel carriers from a reasonable distance.

They could also be relatively lightweight, with optional plates that can be added to recreate the weight of a more massive vehicle when necessary to trigger pressure-sensitive explosive devices.

They would also have sophisticated radio transmitters designed to trigger remote-controlled explosive devices operating through car alarm, cellphone, or other communications protocols.

This seems like a simpler and more effective approach than replacing or retrofitting ineffective personnel carriers. Let them blow up robots instead of our military personnel.

[Artos]

How many robots do you think we'll need? You should propose your idea to the Government. I'm sure there are plenty of Robot making Corporations about that would love to get in on the contracts for this. They would stand to make millions.

[Amock]

Robots! The "REPUBLIC" had a droid army and we ALL know how that ended.

[Tom Joad]

I have an idea...if there are not U.S. vehicles and personnel in Afghanistan, there won't be any U.S. targetss for them to targettt. I bet that would be an effective defense...