Another Soldier dies defusing bomb

[rov1200]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8338220.stm

After another soldier is killed making a bomb safe is there another method to make them inactive without handling them at close quarters? They know the bomb is below the surface but can't they blow it up with weaponry at a safe distance?

[Sandy-Wroe]

There was a tracked device used by the army in N Ireland to good effect. It would probably be too expensive for use in Afghanistan, though.

[craft1948]

It actually showed him on the news tonight when he was interviewed about his work and he was saying about all the good training he'd had to be able to be effective.......so very sad.

[anotheoldgit]

There was a Government Minister on the LBC radio phone-in this morning and he was asked almost the same question, but he wheedled his way out of answering it, simply by saying for obvious security reasons he could not divulge what measures were being taken.

It seems to me that in the 21st century age of advanced electronics, we are still using the same methods that were used in WW2.

Two questions I would have liked to ask and they were,

Seeing that most soldiers who have been blown up, were on foot patrol, this being the case why continue with foot patrols?

Why isn't there more Helicopter patrols to target the Taliban, when and where they plant these bombs?

[123everton]

Defusing a bomb by hand tells you a lot about the enemies ordinance abilities.
From the components and make up you can discern the suppliers and the maker, all bomb makers (like watch makers) have a style if you have I.E.Ds made of differing styles within Helmand then you can deduce that you have 5 different bomb makers (which is a military specialism).
Helicoptering troops around is not the best way to gain control of the area, we need feet on the ground, if we defeat them in battle (we do) if you demonstrate control in the area by walking around you start to influence the people.
In Vietnam the Americans controlled the towns (sort of) and the Viet Cong the countryside this was because they were unwilling and unable to engage the Viet Cong in the field, to understand the failure and the difference between the two tactics look at British policy in Malaya in the 1950s, we actually pioneered the use of helicopters in warfare.
The trick is to invest in an idea that is better than the Taliban's, the trick is to convince the people that opposing the Taliban is worthwhile and productive, the trick is to overcome the latent cultural mysoginy in the area and make the people see that educating your daughters will increase the wealth and well being of your whole family.
The women want change within their Islamic identity, to deliver it will take time, the Taliban view us as indolent and soft unsuited to the hardships of a long war, are they right?

[kinell]

look, the only reasons the government gives for our continued prescence in afghanistan is because of the terrorist threat on our streets which originates with the muslim lot over there

why not apply the troops and resources to making our borders secure - and i mean on pain of death - and forcibly keep out all potential undesirables

there are enough religious nutters out east to keep blowing themselves and others up for many decades at least

but not in our back yard

[123everton]

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Afghanistan was bankrolling and training terrorists, many of them foreign nationals from the west if you build a stable and just country you deny the terrorists succour, sustenance and a base.

[rov1200]

Yes Sandy they often showed those robotic devices on TV defusing bombs so the MOD must be well aware of them. I can't believe it is only down to cost there must be other reasons. I'd hate to think the soldiers themselves because they have been fully trained in bomb defusing saw it as an ideal way to practice their craft. Maybe their heroism needs to be taken in check for their own safety.

This website advertises these robots and what looks like a cheap plastic device says it handles IED's.

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=150

But is there a problem with those bombs below the surface? I would have thought a more crude device such as a grenade launcher or similar might do the trick.

Surely we are not too concerned about having bomb craters in their lovely countryside.

[rov1200]

123 everton you may be right in trying to see what bomb maker was involved but it comes with a heavy price tab. I would think they could do a sample of the number of IEDs found in a particular period to judge whether they are meeting with more resistance or less and buggar who concocted it and with what sophistication. This soldier is not the first disposal officer to be killed like this and getting blown up into small fragments is not a price worth paying.

[jackthehat]

Many of these devices are 'set-off' then and there by cowards with binoculars and mobile 'phones..........there is no way to make them 'safe' without killing the would-be-bombers first.....

[123everton]

I don't know the full drill for bomb disposal in Afghanistan, common sense dictates that you keep hold of a few I.E.Ds for the reason given above.
The device was clearly of some material value to us as we wouldn't expend time, expertise or treasure on a valueless explosive.
The troop would just shoot it.

[rov1200]

AOG I tend to go along with your idea as foot patrols have not worked. Have we learnt nothing from the Russians who had to retreat from Afghanistan. The Taliban obviously used similar tactics then judging by the heavy Russian armour laying around. With an enemy that wears no uniform that can infiltrate the peasants and pretend they are farmers why are we using hearts and minds on their relatives.

Pakistan has the right idea when it uses its full might to destroy a village where the Taliban are hanging out even if it means the local population are displaced and become refugees. We should regard them all as enemies or get out.