Ending IEDs

“As long as we have the most powerful military in the world, nobody will attack us directly. Asymmetric threats will be the order of the day,” said Chairman Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on defeating the improvised explosive device (IED).

In response to threats like these the Department of Defense began a ‘Manhattan project-like effort’ to combat the rise of IEDs. This endeavor took the form of the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), a 3,600-employee task force charged with eliminating the strategic influence of IEDs. This goal has been attempted through a variety of means, including going after the networks that provide the materials for IEDs in order to make them more costly to create, and bringing American police detectives abroad to more efficiently track down those who use them.

While the organization has met with success, there are questions about its future capabilities. The House Armed Services Committee is concerned over whether future asymmetric weapon use should be confronted by JIEDDO or if new organizations should be created as threats emerge.

One of JIEDDO’s strengths is its ability to uniquely focus on IEDs.

“We have achieved our success because of that laser focus. If we open up that aperture too wide and too quickly we’ll lose that laser focus,” said JIEDDO Director Lieutenant General Thomas F. Metz, warning not to change the current structure of the organization.

However this this manner of of specialization has drawn criticism. Snyder replied,

“If we put on hold all things and changes that we think the government might need to do because we’re involved in a war we could try to be declaring a time out for a long time. I don’t think that’s a very good reason not to want to do things more efficiently.”