[juyrett]

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Sep 23, 2010 5:59:22 EDT

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Doctors at the NATO hospital here were shocked by what they saw on the brain image of an Afghan soldier flown in after a roadside bomb explosion.

A 3-inch-long, threaded steel bolt was buried deep inside the man's head.

"I thought, ‘this poor guy is doomed,’" recalls Navy Cmdr. Steven Cobery, 44, a U.S. military neurosurgeon in Afghanistan.

Insurgents are creating more destructive roadside bombs this year by packing ..... Read the rest of the story here

----------------
Is the military doing enough to protect troops from IEDs?

[Suvaxal]

I don't think I'm alone in not truly understanding the situation on the ground, as to why our troops are so exposed to IEDs and why more is not done to prevent their being planted, but I am trying to be respectful of the military's intelligence in the matter. I think my question must be far too naive. I have to ask it, because the coverage often seems to depict a grim prospect for our troops to go out and patrol and re-patrol in the same risky areas where more mines may have been planted overnight.

A couple articles I saw today went a ways towards addressing one concern of mine, but left another unanswered.

1)
Where possible, can we have continuous surveillance by drones to indicate when enemy is entering areas that our troops control and know are safe? Do we use our own mines as deterrents to prevent unauthorized entry / mine-planting by enemy? Can't we limit and control access by civilians to areas where mines could be planted by insiders, especially when its night or during day when numbers of individuals would otherwise be difficult to track? Are things like this being done? We could then slowly push out, on our terms, to expand the territory we hold. My impression though, is that we are pushing out much more boldly than that, increasing the risk to the troops, at least in the short-run. The surge's momentum seems to be gathering, and the article said the IEDs are getting yet nastier.


In today's new reports
One of today's news reports indicated a successful day of flushing out of militants in the Arghandab district, and clearing of mines, once and for all. This addressed a particular concern I have for a nephew of mine. Another encouraging article today discussed the increased use of spy balloons to address planting of IEDs and to aid local commanders decision-making.


2) The courage of the coalition and Afghanistan troops commanded into action in these nervous circumstances is hard to comprehend. Their small victories while risking their lives are not celebrated nearly enough! We get a very face-less reporting of the civilians in the midst of the situation, but how can they remain unmoved?

Maybe I just don't know if and how the following is already being done. If we want to win the hearts and minds of the people, we may need to supply a team of Afghan specialists that follow up a success with an ability to give expression to what was accomplished, model the spirit we want the people to feel, and have ways to help them follow through with something that signals progress. (It's almost as if the people can't see a better future for themselves, as if there was something deeply repressed. I'm thinking a more immediate, outpouring of emotion or resolution rather than trust engendered by efforts and consistency of later re-construction teams. )

In today's news ...
Well in the same article that spoke of some success in Arghandab, Kandahar, there was an Afghan lieutenant basically explaining the mentality of those whose land is being brought under control, and he was satisfied because insiders will not help the insurgents return out of they fear they will be dealt with even more harshly the next time. I'm not sure it is a good idea to take this kind of a standstill as an adequate result for very long, passively accepting people's deeply ingrained loyalties as understandable, or inevitable. They don't see as we do the insanity of the insurgent leadership they hang their hat with. (Look at how long we waited for moderate Islamists to condemn Al Qaeda.) I'd like to think there is somewhere inside them a spirit of honest goodness that could be sparked, to win real support and momentum for International forces working alongside Afghan soldiers and follow-in support teams. This was also the article where a tearful Karzai made comments in the face of today's latest bombing and appealed to "countrymen" to oppose the violence wreaked on his people, yet sounded a lot like Marc Antony's in his thinly veiled opposition to a Caesar, going far out of his way to condemn the motives of occupying forces.