Strategies to Defeat Improvised Explosive Devices

            IED stands for improvised explosive device; this could be anything that is retooled to create an explosion like old mortar rounds, unexploded artillery shells, and usually incorporates some kind of shrapnel designed to operate like a hand grenade or claymore once it explodes, the shrapnel could be anything from nails, pellets, bolts or even rocks. When discussing strategies to defeat IED's or improvised explosive devices it is important to establish what strategies are currently being implemented and how effective they are. Another point that needs to be discussed is why haven't our enemies attempted to use IED's on US soil, and what we are, and can do to prevent that. .
             The first question that needs to be asked when attempting to defeat a weapon like an IED is what allows the enemy to generate this kind of weapon and what can be done to keep them from building IED's. Some key components in an IED are basically any kind of explosive that could be considered deadly combined with usually dispersible fragments like nails pellets metal shrapnel just about anything that can be used to inflict damage or pain. Other required materials for an IED are a trigger mechanism of some kind; this can be as simple as a battery and cable or could be a phone triggered IED as well as triggered by a timer. The most valuable asset to a terrorist when trying to make an IED though isn't the explosives it isn't the timer and it isn't the dispersible fragments it's the knowledge and experience of bomb makers. When attempting to prevent terrorists from accessing that kind of information it can be quite difficult because of things like the internet where a terrorist can learn what he needs and how to build a simple IED. The best way though to prevent IED's from becoming more prevalent is limiting the knowledge and experience of our enemies making the bombs by going after the bomb makers and designers. The enemy has many resources to call upon for making IED's like left over rockets from RPG's left by the Soviet Union when they invaded Afghanistan and even our left over munitions that may have not exploded.