Hidden enemies: adaptive foe thwarts counter-ied efforts.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: IRAQ OPERATIONS

There are 90 ways to detonate a roadside bomb. Iraqi insurgents have progressed from simple trip wires to infrared devices to set off improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and this technological evolution points to an adaptive, nimble enemy.

"Sometimes it just goes to show you that a thinking, knowing enemy--an asymmetric enemy--in many ways has some advantages," said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Robert M. Shea, joint staff director for command, control, communications and computer systems, at the Milcom 2006 conference.

Coalition forces are engaged in an ongoing invisible combat in the radio and infrared spectra, officials at the conference said. And it is a battle where both sides are allocating resources to improve their warriors' knowledge and skills.

Richard Wittstruck, chief systems engineer at the Army's program executive office of intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, said, "we have a silent and continuous war going on ... It is truly spectral combat. They want to own and operate in areas of spectrum."

The Pentagon established the joint IED defeat task force in 2004. Since then, the use and effectiveness of the devices has evolved. Fifty-five U.S. troops lost their lives at the hands of insurgents using IEDs in October, the worst month since the war began, according to the Iraq Index, a report compiled by the Brookings Institute. The index does not track the number of IED-related injuries sustained by U.S. troops, or casualties suffered by Iraqi civilians, security forces or contractors.

Military and civilian experts working on the IED problem paint a picture of an enemy who is constantly improving his ability to manufacture and detonate such weapons.

Wittstruck said while the task force's immediate goal is to develop technology that can prevent IEDs from exploding, there are longterm issues. "The whole art of this is one of human dimension and understanding your enemy and how he or she employs and places and executes their mission."

The enemy is not a ragtag bunch of rebels running around with AK-47s, officials said. The early stated goal of finding high-tech solutions to defeat a low-tech weapon is giving way to the realization that the bombs are growing in sophistication.

While the Pentagon's IED task force is taking a holistic approach--spending millions of dollars on bettering armor, boosting training and developing sensors--the enemy also is making long-term plans and spending its funds accordingly, Wittstruck said.

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