IEDS: Remember This Claim

A U.S. Army general is promising that there will be a decline in casualties from IEDs in Afghanistan by December.

The number of attacks has been up dramatically this year.

But Lt. Gen. Michael Oates told USA Today that better strategies, better equipment and the killing of more insurgents will reduce the threat.

"If those three elements come into play, and I do think they will, my estimate is that we should see a turn down in the IEDs' effectiveness and number sometime six months from now," said Oates, chief of the Joint IED Defeat Organization.

Some experts had doubts.

They said that IED attacks would go down but wouldn't mean an end to the war or the end of roadside bombs.

Some military analysts agreed with Oates' prediction but said it wouldn't signal an end to the war, nor the use of roadside bombs. Other weapons would be found.

But the public should keep an eye on what happens to determine how much credence to put in Army claims.