The Insurgents' Weapon Of Choice

Ackerman studies the limited effectiveness of the Pentagon’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO):

What will ultimately stop the bombs in Afghanistan? According to the lessons of Iraq, it’s no big secret: a secure population, an “effective counterinsurgency strategy,” competent Afghan soldiers and cops, “lethal targeting” of insurgents, and “some kind of political reconciliation.” Still, it’s worth noting that according to JIEDDO’s figures, there were over 400 bomb attacks in Iraq in January alone, which might say something about what “success” in the fight against the signature weapon of the U.S.’ two long wars actually looks like.